Tamsin Cook is: Imagine If theatre and Mafwa theatre

Episode 1. Tamsin Cook, co-director of MAFWA Theatre in conversation with Una. Talking working with women who've been through the asylum process and the need for community arts. – Dedicated to All the Others: Conversations about creative life stories

Tamsin Cook, co-director of MAFWA Theatre, a project based in Lincoln Green in Leeds, discusses MAFWA's projects Kuluhenna Drama and Flock and the Associate Artists programme, with Leeds born artist and writer Una, author of Becoming Unbecoming and creative director of Red Dress Collective, who also has a background in community arts. They discuss the need for community arts, community gardens and green fingers, creative process, responsive practice and the importance of ethics. Both Tamsin and Una play stringed instruments badly, and think the importance of public funding and sustainable community organisations is underestimated.  Links to Tamsin's mentions: Curious Monkey Theatre, Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed, Migration Matters Sheffield, Howard Assembly Rooms, MAFWA work with women who have been through the asylum process and with local communities. Tamsin's co-director at MAFWA is Keziah Berelson, they met while studying an MA in International Development and Theatre at the University of Leeds.  As part of the Dedicated to All the Others project, Una's partners in Brazil, Coletivo Rubra, will perform a short play adapted from Becoming Unbecoming and created using Boal's theatre methods. Coletivo Rubra can be found on Instagram and Facebook.  If you are interested in playing instruments badly, look no further than the Portsmouth Sinfonia. Thanks to Jon Sayles for playing the Bach, rather well, and for providing this service free under CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE: Gavottes 1 and 2 From Cello Suite, Exzel Music Publishing (freemusicpublicdomain.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Tamsin Cook, co-director of MAFWA Theatre, a project based in Lincoln Green in Leeds, discusses MAFWA’s projects Kuluhenna Drama and Flock and the Associate Artists programme, with Leeds born artist and writer Una, author of Becoming Unbecoming and creative director of Red Dress Collective, who also has a background in community arts. They discuss the need for community arts, community gardens and green fingers, creative process, responsive practice and the importance of ethics. Both Tamsin and Una play stringed instruments badly, and think the importance of public funding and sustainable community organisations is underestimated. 

Mafwa theatre brings refugees, asylum seekers and settled communities together to celebrate our diversity and campaign for a more welcoming Leeds. Mafwa are a community theatre company working with artists and theatre makers from migrant backgrounds to develop and share their practice. Tamsin and collaborator Keziah Berelson run creative workshops for women in Leeds to have fun, make new friends and learn new skills.

Links to Tamsin’s mentions:

• Curious Monkey Theatre,
• Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed,
• Migration Matters Sheffield,
• Howard Assembly Rooms,

MAFWA work with women who have been through the asylum process and with local communities. Tamsin’s co-director at MAFWA is Keziah Berelson, they met while studying an MA in International Development and Theatre at the University of Leeds. 

As part of the Dedicated to All the Others project, Una’s partners in Brazil, Coletivo Rubra, will perform a short play adapted from Becoming Unbecoming and created using Boal’s theatre methods. Coletivo Rubra can be found on Instagram and Facebook. 

If you are interested in playing instruments badly, look no further than the Portsmouth Sinfonia.

Thanks to Jon Sayles for playing the Bach, rather well, and for providing this service free under CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE: Gavottes 1 and 2 From Cello Suite, Exzel Music Publishing (freemusicpublicdomain.com), Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/