Culture Forward Sponsors ‘The Valley of Queens’ Performance at JAAG Festival 2024
Culture Forward sponsors The Valley of the Queens at this year’s JAAG: Panjabi and Pahari-Pothwari Language and Literature Festival.
On Saturday 22 June 2024 at this year’s JAAG: Panjabi & Pahari-Pothwari Language and Literature Festival, Culture Forward sponsored a vibrant rehearsed reading of a theatre piece titled The Valley of Queens.
This verbatim play delves into the migration stories of South Asian women residing in Sandwell Valley, West Bromwich. The production, developed by Curl Girl Productions, draws from the heartfelt experiences of these women, capturing their laughter, songs, and memories from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.
The Valley of Queens emerged from The Happy Hour Project, a 12-week creative initiative produced by Curl Girl and commissioned by Creative Black Country under the Arts Council
England’s Creative People and Places National Portfolio programme. This project provided South Asian women, aged 50 to 80+, in the Sandwell region, a platform for free creative activities and storytelling workshops centred on their migration journeys. Activities included Laughter Yoga, African Mask Painting, Bollywood Dance, and a visit to see ‘A Forest Dream’ at the MAC.
Participant feedback highlighted the project's positive impact: "The biggest highlight was seeing these ladies shed that layer of bleakness or darkness and just smiling and laughing, looking forward to being part of a group," shared Kiren Jogi, the multidisciplinary artist behind Curl Girl Productions CIC. The company, established in 2023, celebrates South Asian culture and identity through dynamic storytelling and aims to foster personal and social change within the Midlands community.
The Valley of Queens is set to go into rehearsal in November and premiere at the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) in Edgbaston on 6 and 7 December 2024.
“A very small theatre company in the West Midlands wanting to make a lot of noise” – Curl Girl Productions.
Curl Girl aims to create interactive and participatory work for communities. It is an organisation open to all audiences who are interested in experiencing and learning about South Asian culture “both British and homegrown”.