Learn about Sudha’s experience being a resident at Theatre in the Mill👇
I believe in synchronicity. While filming in Bradford for local writer, AA Dhand’s VIRDEE in 2024, little did I know I would soon be invited to deepen my love for this vibrant and unique city. The stars aligned and being ‘Artist in Residence ‘at Theatre in the Mill, marking Bradford UK City of Culture 2025 was a timely gift. I am grateful to TIM’s Artistic Director Dr Shabina Aslam and Bradford 2025’s Creative Director Shanaz Gulzar who envisioned my role to include sharing my canon, while drawing new inspiration from creative encounters.
Shabina generously calls me ‘a quiet revolutionary’, a quality I hadn’t recognised in myself but saw in spades in everyone I met. The warmest of Yorkshire welcomes awaited at every turn; from sharing stories of resilience and activism over masala tea ‘cooked’ on a ‘chula’ at an allotment; to parathas and wellbeing sessions at Women Zone community centre; to tai chi and sewing circles at the beautifully restored Manningham Mills. I even went to my first Shisha lounge with artists and colleagues. Yes, I did partake, sparingly but don’t tell my sons! I participated in an ‘Ark’ workshop hosted by Yorkshire Women’s Forum. The premise being that if there was a biblical or metaphorical ‘flood’, what would you take on your Ark and what would you leave behind. I’m afraid mothers in law and husbands were left to flounder in the surging waters, along with unpaid bills and domestic expectations! Among the things taken on board were faith, books and seeds to plant a new life!
There are many highlights; a 25th anniversary reading of Balti Kings, co-written with Shaheen Khan, as part of the annual World Curry Festival, performances of my solo show Evening Conversations and a community reading of The House of Bilquis Bibi, my adaptation of Lorca’s, The House of Barnada Alba set in Pakistan.
I enjoyed the cultural offerings of Bradford 2025 including the inimitable Angelique Kidjo performing live for BBC proms & the incredible outdoor artworks in the Wild Uplands Sculpture Trail near the Bronte Parsonage at Haworth; most memorably Meherunnisa Azad’s beautiful pink marble butterflies by the water. The taxi driver who drove me there inspired one of the ‘pen portraits’ for It’s Our Time. His story, like that of many others, spans many generations from rural Azad Kashmir to enriching the fabric and landscape of Yorkshire.
‘There’s no place like Bradford. Once you’re here. You don’t want to go anywhere else. People used to take the micky
You need a visa to go there!’- Tanu Patel, Yorkshire Women’s Forum.
My character Jyoti Virdee may not grace our screens again as the BBC are not proceeding with the second series of VIRDEE, but I will certainly be back on the LNER soon, tto explore the next phase of It’s Our Time, inshallah!
