Perspective: Real Asian Faces ; Farah Damji Previews a New Play Coming to Birmingham Next Week in a Meditation On What It Means to Be Asian and Made in England

Summary

---

Let's rewind to the height of Brit Pop, boy bands, Britart and Asian Cool. New Labour's media-friendly grin beamed back at us in the dawn of TV politics. A play by Parv Bancil on this Monday and Tuesday at Bir-mingham Rep, Made in England, was first performed back then as a 15-minute try-out at a political literary festival, Seeing Red -a reaction to New Labour's cheesy grin and toothy policies.

Now it's part of the Decibel Xpo 2004.

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

Perspective: Real Asian Faces ; Farah Damji Previews a New Play Coming to Birmingham Next Week in a Meditation On What It Means to Be Asian and Made in England

Back in the early Blair years young British Asians started to ask important questions about cultural identity and roots.

The second generation had gown up in the eighties when style was the only substance and celebrity was something you did on your birthday. Magazines such as Wallpaper* and i-D had picked up on the cool subculture of Britain's urban Asians.

Daytimes were big -no, not soap shows but the bold and the beautiful bhangra dance parties at which girls and boys could meet because they weren't allowed out at night. They had grown up and were born here but we...

See the full content of this document

---