Theatre asks people of South Asian heritage to share their stories

A theatre in Staffordshire is asking people of South Asian heritage to share their stories for a chance to see them retold on stage.

The New Vic Theatre in Newcastle-under-Lyme is working with local arts company, Appetite, to create a new play, Punjab to the Potteries.

Playwright Shahid Iqbal Khan and Writer/Director Sarah Bedi will use the real-life stories to create the play's script.

Appetite Director Gemma Thomas said: "We want to hear from, celebrate and capture people's lived experiences of migrating to the Potteries, or being born here and raised in a South Asian family." 

The idea for the project was inspired by local man Val Bansal, who had shared his own family's story of migrating from the Punjab in India.

His father had moved to Stoke-on-Trent in 1964.

Bansal said: "There must be countless stories and memories, as well as many more photos in numerous households of people and families who took a similar journey."

There will be an open storytelling event in Newcastle-under-Lyme on 28 April.