No Guts, No Heart, No Glory 9781783196906, 9781783191918

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NO GUTS, NO HEART, NO GLORY

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NO GUTS NO HEART NO GLORY A play by Common Wealth Written by Aisha Zia

OBERON BOOKS LONDON WWW.OBERONBOOKS.COM

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First published in 2014 by Oberon Books Ltd 521 Caledonian Road, London N7 9RH Tel: +44 (0) 20 7607 3637 / Fax: +44 (0) 20 7607 3629 e-mail: [email protected] www.oberonbooks.com Copyright © Aisha Zia and Common Wealth, 2014 Aisha Zia and Common Wealth are hereby identified as authors of this play in accordance with section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The authors has asserted their moral rights. All rights whatsoever in this play are strictly reserved and application for performance etc. should be made before commencement of rehearsal to Common Wealth ([email protected]). No performance may be given unless a licence has been obtained, and no alterations may be made in the title or the text of the play without the author’s prior written consent. You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or binding or by any means (print, electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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PB ISBN: 978-1-78319-191-8 EPUB ISBN: 978-1-78319-690-6 Cover photography by Sophie Gerrard Inside photography by Christopher Nunn Printed and bound by Marston Book Services, Didcot. Visit www.oberonbooks.com to read more about all our books and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.

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Contents Contact, Manchester Foreword Introduction About Common Wealth: Note on the text: Act One Endurance

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CONTACT, MANCHESTER No Guts, No Heart, No Glory is co-produced by Contact. Contact is the Manchester-based contemporary arts venue and charity that places young people’s leadership and decision-making at the heart of the organisation. Through a highly diverse programme of presenting, commissioning and producing, Contact consistently challenges assumptions about who performs, where and for whom. As such, No Guts, No Heart, No Glory is an important project for Contact, in its challenge to the assumptions we might make about the life choices available to young Muslim women. To hear these young performers express a delicate balance of duty, care, love and respect, but also frustration and steely determination, is deeply moving. To see them perform in front of the young and diverse audiences the show attracts is to witness something important. The performers’ experiences, entering adulthood in Britain now, in 2014, have a rich and compelling resonance for us all, living in roles or lives that maybe only half fit, that maybe only half express us. You’ve got to be brave to enter the ring. But sometimes that is what is required. Sometimes it’s what is necessary. Guts, and heart. Matt Fenton Artistic Director, Contact, Manchester www.contactmcr.com

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FOREWORD Every so often a theatre company emerges that matches a whirlwind of conviction and ideas with a steady instinct for powerful drama and imagery. When this happens the rest of the theatre world tends to sit up and notice, because that sense of conviction, too often lost in the quest for good reviews and financial survival, speaks nonetheless to something very deep in us: a sense that theatre can try to change the world! Common Wealth are that kind of company. They believe that theatre should be surprising, beautiful, moving – and in the company’s short life they’ve already shown their capacity to achieve these artistic aims. But they also care profoundly about the society they live in and want their work to matter to a wide range of people. Through depth of research, honest conversations, and a real commitment of time and emotion, they have demonstrated how they can make this happen. Our Glass House, and now No Guts, No Heart, No Glory bring real lives onto the stage in a way that is respectful, truthful and yet utterly unexpected. I am confident that this is a company that will be changing the way we look at the world for many years to come. John McGrath Artistic Director, National Theatre Wales www.nationaltheatrewales.org

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INTRODUCTION It was Monday 18 August 2014 when I went to Sandy’s Gym in Craigmillar to see the first-ever public performance of No Guts, No Heart, No Glory. In thirtyfive years of Edinburgh Fringe reviewing, I had never been to Sandy’s Gym before – just as I’d never seen a show performed in an ordinary house in Wester Hailes, before I experienced Common Wealth’s extraordinary 2013 show Our Glass House, about the many faces of domestic violence. The whole point about Common Wealth, though, is that it’s the kind of ground-breaking company that takes theatre out of its comfort zones, into places where people who often struggle to be heard can make their stories known, on their own terms; people like the young British Muslim women who, with Common Wealth, created the text of No Guts, No Heart, No Glory – now published here – and the remarkable performance we saw in Edinburgh that day. The show went on to win a Scotsman Fringe First award later that week, and to be shortlisted for this year’s Amnesty Scotland Freedom of Expression Award. Yet the week when No Guts, No Heart, No Glory opened was not only the final week of the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe; it was also the sixth week of the Israeli government’s sustained attack on Gaza, and the week when the group known as Islamic State released its first video of the beheading of a western journalist in Syria, unleashing the usual calls for British Muslims to ‘do more’ to prevent the rise of violent fundamentalism. So when I came to write my Scotsman politics column for 9

that week, I realised that this show was so significant, on so many levels, that I had to write about it again, in ways that could not be contained in a short theatre review. Here is a version of the column I wrote. ‘In an old boxing gym in Craigmillar, a group of young aspiring fighters are dancing and weaving around the room, pummelling at punchbags, running the length of the floor, jumping in and out of the ring set up at one end of the space. Yet this is no ordinary Edinburgh training session; for this group of fighters are all young Muslim women from Bradford, performers in a Fringe show, punching out their rage against all the prevailing assumptions about how they should live, and what they might want to be. The show – called No Guts, No Heart, No Glory, and presented by the Common Wealth company – is one of our Scotsman Fringe First winners, in this final week of the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe; not for any formal perfection, but because it makes thrilling theatre, and gives a platform to vivid, important young voices that urgently need to be heard. And its overwhelmingly positive message – about young British Muslim women determined to empower themselves, and to make something brilliant of their lives – forms an interesting counterpoint to the torrent of negative language and imagery that has accompanied the online appearance, this week, of the horrific video of American photographer James Foley being brutally killed in northern Syria by a masked fighter of the militant Islamic State group, who seems to speak with an English accent. 10

Now of course, it’s possible that this fighter does not come from a British Muslim background at all. Yet still, James Foley’s cruel death acts as a cue for all the usual panicky coverage about the need to prevent the ‘radicalisation’ of young British Muslims, and the usual calls to moderate Muslims in British Asian communities to do more to stop young people from taking this path. The underlying assumption is that there is something that can be done – next week, or next month – to root out violent fundamentalist ideas from the British Muslim community, and to replace them with more moderate forms of teaching. Yet it is surely dangerous to imagine that the simmering anger that leads some young Muslims towards violence can be removed simply by changing the tone of the teaching in some British mosques. On the contrary, that sense of anger and disaffection can only be dealt with by our society as a whole. In the Britain of 2014, the young women whose lives are reflected in No Guts, No Heart, No Glory have found a creative way of gaining a new voice, new confidence, and the hope of a better future. And the task of our society, in essence, is to offer the same kind of hope to the whole generation of young people who might otherwise be attracted by the politics of hatred and revenge. We need to fight this negative form of ‘radicalism’ not with scaremongering and stereotypes, but with the positive counter-radicalism that works tirelessly for social justice and respect, for equal opportunities for all, for a constant vigilance against the bigotry and discrimination that hurts and enrages those who suffer it, and for the kind of enlightened foreign 11

policy that sows the seeds of peace. A show like No Guts, No Heart, No Glory partly reflects a generation of positive change in British society, for women at least. And if we do not strive to maintain and restore that ideal of ever-increasing fairness, openness and opportunity across our society as whole, then we will always risk the rage of those who feel excluded and unheard; and the violence of those who seek to exploit that anger, for their own brutal political ends.’ Joyce McMillan Theatre critic and columnist, The Scotsman A longer version of this column was published in The Scotsman on Friday 22 August 2014.

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No Guts, No Heart, No Glory is based on interviews with Muslim female boxers including former National Champion Ambreen Sadiq and former British University Champion Saira Tabasum, both from Bradford. The young cast came through an audition process in Bradford schools, most had never performed in front of an audience before, our cast of five shaped the play based on their experiences, their insight, what we all wanted to say. During our rehearsals, Israel started their offense on Gaza, some of the actors started going to protests. The crisis in Gaza was a stark reminder as we made the play, to be brave in our own lives and to be brave on a wider, international level, to be proud of where you come from and who you are. It began to feel more and more like a protest play, not one where we say ‘no’, but one where we say ‘yes’. Muslim young women are rarely represented in the media, No Guts, No Heart, No Glory is a chance for Muslim young women to represent themselves, to dance, to box, to swear, to get angry, to enjoy it, to be champions.

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ABOUT COMMON WEALTH: Common Wealth are an award-winning, Bradford-based company who make site-specific theatre events that are political and contemporary – based in the present day – the here and now. We see No Guts, No Heart, No Glory as an antidote to the critically acclaimed Our Glass House, a play which explored domestic abuse and toured disused houses around the UK from 2012-2013. Our Glass House won a Special Commendation from the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Awards at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2013. Common Wealth formed in 2008 and has since produced six new plays working across the UK in a medical operating theatre, courtroom, zip factory, disused houses, community centres and boxing gyms. We seek out places to stage our work that are right at the heart of a community; places where people who might not go to the theatre might come to instead – we aim to make theatre for people who don’t usually think it’s for them. Our ideas are rooted in socialist politics, working-class

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backgrounds, a keen interest in contemporary music/ theatre/art/design, the people that we meet and an idealistic ambition to shift things. We see our plays as campaigns, as a way of bringing people together and making change feel possible. #GUTSHEARTGLORY @Common_WealthHQ Aisha Zia is a playwright based in the UK. She completed her MA in Creative Writing (plays and screenplays) at City University, London. No Guts, No Heart, No Glory is her fourth full-length play. Aisha worked with Common Wealth on her adaptation An Indecent Incident from A Nasty Story by Fyodor Dostoevsky and wrote text for Our Glass House. Alongside the main production of No Guts, No Heart, No Glory, Common Wealth and Ambreen Sadiq worked with young Muslim women in schools across Bradford and Manchester leading drama workshops that explored the themes of the play: bravery, choice, expectation and representation. These workshops allowed us to meet inspirational young women and their input informed the play. This is a poem written by Nahida Khatun, Eyman Dar, Naila Iqbal, Mehvish Akhtar, Shahida Rahimi, Umaira Saeed and Rebeka Begum aka ‘The Brave Young Souls’ / ‘The Girls’ Empowerment Group at Grange Technology College, Bradford, which they performed at their school Mela in June 2014. I’m leaving school soon and I’ve been asking people: what do you think I should be?

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They tell me I should be: -

A nurse A teaching assistant A housewife A stay-at-home mum

But that’s not what I want to be. I want to be: -

A doctor A businesswoman A teacher An artist

I don’t want to wear a nurse’s uniform covered in sick stains. I want to wear a white coat and a stethoscope helping the sick people get better. When an emergency comes in, I don’t want to be taking orders and passing equipment. I want to be the one stitching bodies and lives back together. I want to be the hero, not the helper, saving lives, not cleaning up the aftermath.

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I don’t want to be housewife, I’m not your slave because I am a female, I’m better than that. No I won’t settle for something less just because I’m a woman. I’m not a dolly and I’m not your dummy – I don’t exist only to become capable of making you the roundest chappatis. Little do you know what I’m capable of. I am a threat to all men because I can be much more successful than them. Smart, independent and strong, this is a job where I belong. I don’t want to be sat at the back of the class sticking children’s work on the walls with my hands covered in glitter when I’ve lost my sparkle. I want to be stood at the front of the class moulding minds and having my chance to shine. I don’t want to be waking up in the middle of the night to look after the baby, my colourful dreams interrupted by dirty nappies. I don’t want my palette to be made up of bland baby food and vomit, I want bright colours to paint my work, my fortune on a blank canvas. I don’t want to be tidying up a mess, I want to be making one. I don’t want to end each day with aching legs, scraping leftover food and leftover dreams in to the bin. I want my hands and brain to ache from holding a pen, writing accounts and orders and my aspirations on a notepad. I’m sorry if my aspirations don’t meet your expectations, I want to bulldoze these stereotypes out of your minds and drill down into what I want to do.

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Should I be a nurse or a doctor? It’s MY choice. Should I be a housewife or a businesswoman? It’s MY choice. Should I be a stay-at-home mum or an artist? It’s MY choice. Should I be a dinner lady or a chef? It’s MY choice. I’m NOT sorry if my aspirations don’t meet your expectations, because whatever I want to do with my life is MY choice, and I don’t care if that disappoints anyone else because at least I won’t be disappointing myself. I can be whatever I want to be and I will. No Guts, No Heart, No Glory was originally commissioned by Contact and Theatre in the Mill and was first presented at Craigmillar Boxing Gym, Sandy’s Community Centre, Craigmillar, Edinburgh in August 2014 with the following company: Cast HAJRA:

Seherish Mahmood

FREIDA:

Freyaa Ali

TASLEEM:

Mariam Rashid

MEHWISH:

Nayab Din

SAIRA:

Saira Tabasum

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Made by Common Wealth Co-produced by Contact Writer, Aisha Zia Director/Producer, Evie Manning Associate Director/Production Manager, Rhiannon White Boxing Coach and Script Consultant, Ambreen Sadiq Original Choreography developed by Imogen Knight Additional Movement by Kate Sagovsky Production Design, Alice Hoult Sound Design, Wojtek Rusin Film, Jack King Lighting Design, Ivan Mack Lighting Technician, Jamie Grier Writer’s Assistant, Pippa Dey Reviews for No Guts, No Heart, No Glory: ‘Full of sweaty, sweary joy at the sheer possibilities of life.’

Guardian ‘Powerful and triumphant … a celebration of the human will that transcends religion and gender.’

Independent

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‘A theatrical experience to remember; raw, heartfelt, blazing with energy and sometimes absolutely beautiful.’ .

Scotsman ‘An irresistible thing about muscle, guts and the determination to stand up for who you are in an increasingly mad world.’

Herald ‘One of the most important pieces of theatre I’ve seen for some time.’

Yorkshire Post Awards Winner of Scotsman Fringe First Award, Edinburgh Fringe 2014 Shortlisted for Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Awards 2014

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Note on the text: No Guts, No Heart, No Glory was made to be staged in boxing gyms using boxing equipment (boxing ring, punch bags, etc) although can work without this specific equipment. The physical world of the play, both in terms of boxing, music and choreography was very important to the original staging of the piece, we have deliberately kept stage directions minimal to allow for interpretation of staging. The original Common Wealth production allowed the audience to move around freely, to get as close to the action as possible and for the audience to have their own experience. The pre-recorded sound cues of the Uncle and the Voiceover of Interviewer and the Girl Boxer are available for download from the Oberon website. / Indicates next speaker should start speaking. // Indicates a change in address.

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As the audience enters the gym, the girls are skipping and chatting, swapping over to work on pads, laughing, having fun, each work with SAIRA on the pads for one minute each. SAIRA

claps together pads.

SAIRA:

OK everyone, focus, focus!

jumps onto the front of the boxing ring and speaks into a microphone. HAJRA

HAJRA:

This story is called ‘I finally have a story to tell.’

It recalls a time when I went alone to see a show of someone I’m hugely inspired by and what happened when I plucked up the courage to not shy away just because I was intimidated by him and actually speak to him. Because if I could speak to him and the others around me, then I can speak to anyone. Watch out for the moment when I fiddle with my fingers, put my hands up towards my face but then clasp them behind my back. Because this symbolizes how nervous I used to be but then I stepped out of my comfort zone. I would like the camera to focus on my hands and then outside on the roads and the people. By the end of this story I would like you to do something you’ve always put off doing, even if it’s just going to the museum you always cross but never visit.

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MEHWISH:

This story is called standing up for what’s

right. It recalls a time when my sister told me about the conflict in Gaza. I want the camera to stare at me so I can stare right back at it. By the end of this story I want you to stand up for what’s right. FREIDA

walks through the audience.

FREIDA:

This story is called Individual Differences.

It recalls a time when I first started secondary school, with no one I knew and I used to sit alone. I thought this isn’t right, maybe because it wasn’t ‘socially normal’ I guess! But actually, I thought about it and decided that I couldn’t care less. If I want to eat alone and sit alone then… who cares! I am not afraid to be me – no one person is the same. If I don’t sit with anyone… who really cares?! Watch out for the moment when I stand up for myself and pray, as I am grateful for what I have because this symbolizes my religion, my life, ME and what I’M supposed to do. I would like the camera to be zoomed in on my eyes, because the truth, the innocence and the lioness in me is revealed. takes the hand of an audience member and raises it in the air. FREIDA

By the end of this story I would like you to be inspired to be YOU, to stand up for yourself and be free!

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VOICE OF THE UNCLE IS HEARD OVER THE TANNOY (Pre-recorded): MUBARAK! Well-done baitai. It was your first fight and it will be your last fight. UNCLE

HONESTY FREIDA:

It’s the same.

Nothing new, I’ve seen this one before Nothing new. Mum I’m thinking of taking up a new sport. Something new, something exciting. I’m thinking of…boxing. No I won’t get hurt. No I won’t get hurt, it’s amateur boxing, and they’re all smaller than me. OK, they’re not smaller than me, but I’m a lightweight. I’m not a lightweight; it’s a lightweight group, because we’re all small, no one really gets hurt. OK there might be some, small injuries, like a broken nose or a splintered wrist. Nothing major. Nothing to worry about, I’ll live. MEHWISH GETS BULLIED

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MEHWISH:

Look at your arse!

Why does it stick out like that? Ugly, look at your thighs, look at your man thighs // She laughs // Look at you. Lesbian, are you a man now? Look at your arms. Look at your face! It’s so big! Your fat nose, a big fat ugly nose, look at your ugly face, I hate your face! Why are you so ugly? What? Come on then. Come over! // She comes over She spits. I’ve got spit on my face. They point they stare they laugh. I hold on to my bag, I can’t remember what’s in it but I hold on to it because it’s mine. I don’t want them to get inside my bag. It’s my bag, it’s my stuff I don’t want them to touch my stuff. I’m down. It hurts I’m angry I don’t cry I won’t let them see me cry. Don’t feel pain just don’t feel. I tell myself. And in that moment I could be anywhere. And in that moment I could be anyone anywhere in the world kicking, screaming, fighting…

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Fighting. TASLEEM LISTENS TO THE EARTH TASLEEM:

When you look at the Earth it’s just rocks. And how these rocks change over time. It captures our history, who we are and where we come from. All that information, and in the rocks. They are not even living things. But they are solid. And they will always be there, if nothing else will. We can learn about anything, any thing at all. The stars, the moon, the sky, space. Or underwater. We can look at fish, and fossils. We can learn things. Make things better. It’s trying to tell us. The Earth, it’s seen things it’s trying to tell us how we change, be better. It wants us to listen. I’m listening. But who’s listening to me? There must be something else out there, someone else, like me? Surely, other people that get it? I get it. HAJRA WANTS TO GET AWAY HAJRA:

Today I got on the bus.

And. Get on the bus.

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Wasn’t sure, just wanted to go. But to go. It was. To the park. Yeah. So today I got on the. I got on the. Got on the bus to the park and I called my friend. Hello friend. Friends. Whatever. I’ve been here before. A thought. I’ve seen that one before. The bus took the same route, down the same street same street street the same people saw the same old lady old with her shopping basket coming out of Asda Tesco’s Aldi Asda Sainsbury’s, and then the same old man. Iceland! With his dog-bark yell-street crossing traffic-lights, a pair of blue shorts, the same black cap old lady purple headscarf traffic-lights roundabout shouting-shouting shout-shout boy shouting girl running daughter smoking, and the girls all arguing over the same pair of shoes they bought in Primark! Fucking hell! Have I? Have I been here? Have I been here before? The bus goes round and then, I’m back. Back to BD3. Where I live. This is where I live and this is my street and this is my door.

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My door is white and my curtains are black well, they’re not so black just a bit (Pause) grey. Because my, well my mum well, she just hasn’t changed them in since like forever and I’m just sick of staring at her same old curtains and sometimes, sometimes I just wish, I just wish she’d get some fucking new ones! Mum! Mum get some fucking new curtains will you? Do you know how old these are? Do you know how long I’ve been staring at these at these same old same old curtains? Oh my god. And they’re polyester as well, polyester. If I’ve got to have another word about the curtains I’ll kill someone. Let’s. Open a window. Maybe. Open a bloody window will you? Go on open it! Will you? Maybe I will, maybe I will do it myself. NEVER DROP YOUR GUARD The girls shout commands as they move into position to stand together facing out. FREIDA:

Never drop your guard

Jab, straight punch Head up, chin down, look straight /

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Through the eyebrows TASLEEM:

Never drop the ball

Your left-hand and then your right hand, You’re right-handed, lead with your right hand / Your backhand is stronger when you throw it MEHWISH:

Stand with your feet, shoulder width

apart, One foot in front of the other / Bend your knees! HAJRA:

Keep both your hands up over your cheeks

Protect your face. And it’s just always / Protect yourself, at all times FREIDA:

Land a clean punch

That’s a point / That’s the point SAIRA:

It’s not about going in there, and knocking someone out. 33

It’s about being the clever one Moving around / Using your feet. HAJRA:

Using your eyes and your ears,

Using your head Use your head! It’s more like, dancing. PEOPLE TALKING BEHIND OUR BACKS The girls begin to put their wraps, head guards and boxing gloves on. SAIRA:

One friend of mine had to keep looking behind her back to make sure her uncle’s car wasn’t following the taxi we were in because FREIDA:

because he wasn’t supposed to know she was out, and if he found out he’d like make up some shit lie to tell HAJRA:

to tell her mum that she was doing something wrong. Another close friend of mine had to move schools because word got back to her dad that she was getting very close to a guy friend of ours. They assumed something romantic was going on because of rumours

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MEHWISH:

and they chose to believe them, not her. Another was temporarily kicked out of her house because someone posted photos of her through the letter box TASLEEM:

And that’s just family! Knowing everyone in the community so everyone’s eyes are always on you, watching you knowing everything about you. Friends, HAJRA:

A friend that is familiar with your family, like a teacher at school or the man that works at the local shop where your mum gets her groceries, or the taxi driver that lives on top of your road sees you and he goes, I know your dad. FREIDA: SAIRA:

This and that. You know? I know your dad

So what, so what you know my dad?

FREIDA:

We steer clear of places around town; we watch where we eat, where we meet HAJRA:

We watch where we hang out. Its like, we’ve evolved in to this, in to this TASLEEM:

Being. Like this collective consciousness of beings that react SAIRA:

We talk, we wear what we want, and we eat how we like, when we want, how we want MEHWISH:

We watch,

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TASLEEM:

We watch everything we do, and we can do it,

HAJRA:

We can do it better, we can do it faster, and we can do it harder FREIDA:

It’s not like we’re even doing anything wrong, sometimes we’re just being ourselves. MEHWISH:

And you talk behind our backs, you talk

down at us HAJRA:

We can’t even speak. We can’t even speak the

truth TASLEEM: HAJRA:

Whose truth? My truth your truth their truth?

I get so confused.

MEHWISH:

How can we be truthful if we’re afraid?

FREIDA:

How can we be honest if we can’t even speak our minds? TASLEEM:

How can we be truthful if we have to hide out of shame, feel humiliated for feeling, for saying, doing, thinking as we please? SAIRA:

How can that be freedom, how can that be truth?

HAJRA:

Fear is not truth. Fear is

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FREIDA:

Fear is getting in a car after a night out, watching your back because you think someone might be following you, someone might be following you trying to catch you out trying to watch you being you, so they can report back report back home. SAIRA:

Tell your mum tell your dad, that you’ve been up to no good, that you’ve been sneaking around having a good time. HARJA:

Had a good time? Yeah, I had a good time

FREIDA:

I had a bloody good time!

TASLEEM:

It’s a night out, it’s just

MEHWISH:

A night

HAJRA:

With friends

MEHWISH:

In Urdu: Who were you with? Then in English: I was with the girls FREIDA: HAJRA:

With the girls. My girls

I’m having a good time with my girls

MEHWISH: HAJRA:

I’m not going to hide from you

Did I tell you about the good time I had?

TASLEEM:

‘What will her parents think?’

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MEHWISH: FREIDA: SAIRA:

I don’t care, I had a good time

‘What will her dad say?’

I don’t know,

TASLEEM:

I’m telling her dad.

MEHWISH:

Good!

SAIRA:

Tell her dad! Go on tell him

FREIDA:

That’s a bloody good idea!

MEHWISH:

I’ll tell her dad.

HAJRA:

Go on tell my dad! My dad doesn’t care and my mum doesn’t mind, so what’s it got to do with you? TASLEEM:

That’ll make you feel insignificant

MEHWISH:

That will make you feel small

HAJRA:

Who do you think you are anyway?

MEHWISH: FREIDA:

Who do they think they are?

Is that a new car?

TASLEEM:

Who do you think you are!

SAIRA:

In Urdu: Look! Look what your daughter’s doing! Shame!

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FREIDA:

Shame on your family

TASLEEM: HAJRA:

Shame

MEHWISH: SAIRA:

Are they new carpets?

Shame

FREIDA: ALL:

Did you see his car?

Is that a new kitchen?

Shame!

HAJRA:

How often do you pray?

FREIDA:

Why don’t you wear a headscarf?

TASLEEM: SAIRA:

Did you clip your toenails today!

Tell you what…

FREIDA:

Tomorrow when I wake up. I’ll put on my shoes, and my trackie bottoms my hooded top. And I won’t even mind that. Its 6am. I’ll go for a jog I’ll go for a run. And I’ll mean it. I’ll mean it harder than I’ve ever meant anything before. Because it means more to me. When I’m a fighter, I’m fit and. No one can touch me. Why don’t you lot understand? You should be happy for me. Instead of making me feel bad. Why can’t you just be happy for me? Yeah I’m in my gym kit. This is what I have to wear. Is

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it embarrassing you? Am I embarrassing you? Are you embarrassed? It’s for training. It’s for working out. And it’s comfortable. I like it. Well I’m not embarrassed. I’m just being me. You can’t see my legs. No, you can’t see my arms. My mum doesn’t mind, my dad doesn’t care, they’re cool with it. So why can’t you be? Who are you anyway? Who cares what you say? Talking about it, whispering behind my back. Telling people I’m no good. I’m good! I’m bloody good! I’m the best and I can be. I can be better. I’ll show you. I’m here aren’t I? Still here standing. Well come on then! What have you got? What have you got? BOXING Girls at the punch bags. 1 minute on. 30 seconds off, they take a break, drink some water, stretch. 1 minute on. SAIRA creates a rhythm at the punch bags. Silence. MEHWISH LAUGHS MEHWISH

lies on the floor.

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MEHWISH:

I was laughing because he told a joke. But I didn’t think it was funny, I wouldn’t do that. I was just laughing because I was nervous. I didn’t get it. I think he liked me. But I don’t do that sort of thing. I don’t have feelings like that, I don’t have any feelings like that about love, I don’t believe in it. I mean, it’s a nice concept, but it’s not something I engage with, not really. Even when it’s on TV and I’m with my mum and dad, I just go upstairs in to my room and read a book or something like that, or they change the channel, and we watch something else. I find it boring, and its not allowed, it’s a waste of time, anyway. TASLEEM WANTS TO GET MARRIED TASLEEM

sits down on the benches and takes her wraps

off. TASLEEM:

I love my mum and I love my dad.

I want them to be happy, I want them to like me I want to make them happy. I want to be happy with them so I try and see what I can do, what happy can be. I am happy. I’m happy because they are happy, that’s it

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That’s happiness. Real-life happiness. My parents will be gone soon and how will I live? Without them, I don’t want to be alone, when they are gone I’ve got friends but I’ve got school but I could have a degree and I’ll have my own house and cars and things But… I’ve met someone. Mum says, I should meet someone I could meet someone, I have met someone. He’s not that old What do you think? I think he’s all right He’s got big eyes, brown hair, he’s a bit dark but that doesn’t matter to me. I don’t care about things like that. My mum likes him, I’m happy. This is what I want anyway, I want what they want and it’s only right it’s only fair they brought me here gave life to me and

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everything, I’ll just say yes anyway because it’s the right thing to do. He’s got a good job, they say He’s got a good house, good looks His mum’s nice, his dad’s nice too. What else could you want? Think he’s got two sisters and a brother That’s it I’ve seen him I don’t have to do too much now Once I’m settled Come visit Write a letter Send a card You’re all invited! To the wedding Don’t be daft Of course. And we’ll sing

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And we’ll dance And it’ll be fun. We’ll do the ludi; stick dancing and henna the night before the party And what will you wear? You could wear a lehenga; you look great in a lehenga. My cousins will come and my grandma from Pakistan. She’s old but, she’ll come and then what? We’ll go away. And stay somewhere nice. Together Husband and Wife. That’s what it will be like. I’ll have a Husband. And a ring. Probably a big ring, diamonds I’m sure. And we’ll do things, I’ll do things, he’ll work and I’ll be like, just doing other things … I met the guy… I’ve seen him. He’s all right. My dad knows. My mum knows too. I know. It’s the right thing to do. He’s into. Engineering. No I’m not going to miss university No I’m not going to miss making music,

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No I’m not good, not that good How could I be? I failed physics I didn’t pass other exams And they said I was good. They said that I could try again, but I haven’t got the time; I can’t, not now. It’s a waste of time anyway. It’s a waste because, I’ve got other commitments, Dad says. He says there are other things out there, more important things; I’ll enjoy it when I get there, later, when I’m a bit older. He says, I’ll understand. It’ll be worth it. And I do understand. Who needs science anyway, I don’t. I’m getting married! There’s going to be a wedding. Bright lights, big music. And all the girls will be there, we’ll sing. There’s always singing. And colours and food, lots of food, I love food. I love my mum, I love my dad too. You’ll see. THE COLLECTIVE MANIFESTO The girls all stand on top of something to elevate their voices above the crowd.

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FREIDA:

We just want to

TASLEEM:

Feel something

MAHWISH:

We just want to

HAJRA:

Live a little

FREIDA:

We just want to

ALL:

Get out a bit; see the world ask some questions, do you know what I mean?! MAHWISH:

We can’t stay here.

TASLEEM:

We’re Sixteen.

MAHWISH:

We spend our own money, we can discover new cities, explore new people, make new connections, FREIDA:

We want to get out, we want to see the world we want to open doors and see what’s there. ALL:

People like us

Who like art, painting, dancing, drawing, music, boxing, doing sport, doing anything! We want to HAJRA:

Breathe

TASLEEM:

Why can’t we?

MAHWISH:

We get it

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FREIDA:

We want to be understood

Otherwise, it’s not right, is it? TASLEEM: HAJRA:

Not how we should be

FREIDA: HAJRA:

Who are we anyway?

We are sick of it, being ignored

We are sick of it, being indoors

TASLEEM:

There are rules but…

MAHWISH:

We all want to do well, in our studies so we can get out of here. TASLEEM:

We don’t want to do a boring 9 to 5,

What’s the point of that? MAHWISH: FREIDA:

We just want to be ourselves

MAHWISH: FREIDA: ALL:

We don’t want to be cool

We don’t want to settle!

We want to be free.

We could be boxers

Girl boxers Get our anger out 47

Get our aggression out Learn something Be somebody! The girls all share a choreographed routine; they move once in silence and then repeat to music. THE FIRST FIGHT FREIDA:

In the event that you two are throwing punches at each other at the end of the round, and the bell goes, and she decides to throw one last jab, and you slip it, and then retaliate and hit her, it could cost you a point, maybe two, or a disqualification… TASLEEM:

If there is a fist clenching, and no action, I will give you the command, break, stop, that means you can protect yourself, you can take a clean step back. HAJRA:

If the glove goes under the arm, I will give you the command to punch out, walk out. FREIDA:

In the event that you knock your opponent to the ground, and you decide to give her one last jab for good measure, it could cost you a point, or two, or a disqualification. HAJRA:

(As Coach) And you’re not just wondering anymore, TASLEEM:

(As Coach) You’re doing

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FREIDA:

(As Boxer) You’re thinking you’re doing this

for real. HAJRA:

(As Coach) It’s not like when you were doing ballet or karate TASLEEM:

(As Coach) Or when you thought you wanted to be a doctor. FREIDA: HAJRA: SAIRA

(As Boxer) This feels real.

(As Coach) It’s realer than real can get

enters the ring, boxing.

TASLEEM:

You feel good, you feel brave, you feel excited and you’re excited again You want to leave your room. You want to leave your house, You want to dance down the street and tell everyone, HAJRA:

You’re a fighter, you’re fit, and you’re alone. No one can touch you. You’re strong and you’re… FREIDA:

Thoughtful. You’re smart, you use your brain as well as your fists, you duck and then you punch, and then you’re wondering, what is she gonna do next?

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HAJRA:

Is she going for the left or is she going for the right, is she coming in or backing out. Is she backing out?! TASLEEM:

You can sense the fear, the anticipation, you can smell the hesitation, she’s backing off, and she’s backing off! FREIDA:

Bang. You get one, right square on the jaw. And it hurts. That hurts! You bitch. That gets you angry. You’re so angry now you could scream. HAJRA:

You get back up and you scream! You charge. Straight for her. TASLEEM:

She looks scared she looks terrified, you can see it in her eyes, and she’s sweating spit hanging from her mouth guard, it’s disgusting FREIDA:

So you throw one, right back at her, and she blocks it, she blocks it! HAJRA:

So you go again, and you go again and you go again until… FREIDA:

Her arms by her side and she falls to the floor and she’s just laying there and you’re thinking, what on earth has happened to you and you hear the bell go and you feel sorry for her, for a minute. TASLEEM: HAJRA:

Are you OK?

You say

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FREIDA:

Are you OK?

TASLEEM:

Then you realise you’ve still got your gum shield in and she can’t understand you HAJRA:

You take it out and help her up.

FREIDA:

And you’re worried.

TASLEEM: FREIDA:

Are you all right?

She’s all right, she says, and you laugh it out a

bit TASLEEM: HAJRA:

You hug it out.

You got scared then

TASLEEM:

For a minute. For a minute you didn’t know your own strength, HAJRA:

For a minute

FREIDA:

You could have really hurt someone.

TASLEEM: HAJRA:

Well, you’re all right. We’re all right

FREIDA: SAIRA:

You think about it.

I can take it.

You can take it.

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TASLEEM:

Today I saw someone fighting for what they believed in and it made me see. MEHWISH

starts running for 3 minutes.

MEHWISH BEATS THE BULLY MEHWISH:

(Out of breath) Adrenalin rushes from my chest into my arms my face gets hot and my legs are shaking. It’s starting. I try to calm down a bit // Hold her! // They’re kicking still just, going mad I want to scream as well but I don’t. I don’t say a word. Just hold on, get it together. // Cowards! I’m strong Watch You can’t hurt me Kick me punch me, go on! You can’t do anything to me! This is nothing! This isn’t even a real fight. There’s a much bigger fight, something really worth fighting for Out there in the real world

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And you in the playground, in your home, on our street on my street, kicking, punching, fighting, screaming swearing! What are you going to do? I don’t give a fuck about you! Look at you. Do you even know what’s happening? Have you seen it on TV, have you heard it on the news?! People are actually dying! Children are dying! On the streets, on beaches in front of our eyes! Lying on the streets after explosions, invasions, occupations TASLEEM:

It’s our generation that’s supposed to be

changing. FREIDA:

Then why is there no one stepping up, why is there no one helping? SAIRA:

People should know what’s going on out there.

HAJRA:

Like we have all got reasons to be here. We’re lucky. Girls out there are running for their life,

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MEHWISH:

And we’re here fighting about bullying and stuff; it shouldn’t even be a big part of our life. Overcome your challenges. challenges every single day.

They’re

overcoming

HAJRA CROWD SURFS HAJRA:

It’s hard when you haven’t got someone loving you, supporting you, holding your hand. It’s hard when you don’t have someone who believes in you. Even when you’re not together, all of the time, and you can’t see them, but you can feel that they are there. It matters, it carries you. You feel lighter, weight off your shoulders. And you don’t need to look behind you, watch your back, you don’t need to hide, or steal. You don’t even need to borrow, because this time is yours. And you can do what you like with it. You can make it your own you can be free. And you’re not worried anymore. You’re stealth now, and you’re calm, and you’re cool, and you just get it You’re in control; you’re in charge and. It’s OK It’s OK to just be. And I’m not going to apologise.

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I’m going to crowd surf now, can you gather round, I need you to catch me. The girls all gather around HAJRA. They lift her, spinning her around before putting her back down. CELEBRATION! The girls dance to loud music. They take it in turns to fall to the ground and get back up dancing. Eventually they are all exhausted and lay on the floor. HAJRA:

I came here and I thought to myself, what do I

want? FREIDA: HAJRA:

What do I really want?

What do I need?

TASLEEM:

But then I thought about it, really thought about and I decided… FUCK IT! I’m SIXTEEN! MEHWISH:

You’re SIXTEEN! For FUCK’S SAKE!

You’ve got loads of time! HAJRA:

I’m not rushing

TASLEEM:

Just take your time.

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FREIDA:

Take your time. People will get it, they will understand. HAJRA:

I’m not just going to make something up for fuck’s sake! MEHWISH:

It’s your life!

HAJRA:

It’s my life! I’m just saying… Chill out! Take your time. TASLEEM: HAJRA:

We’ll work it out.

You’ll work it out.

FREIDA:

People are listening now.

TASLEEM:

You’re smart and you’ve got something to

say. HAJRA:

Your parents understand.

TASLEEM: FREIDA: HAJRA:

Understanding, that’s important.

And you’ve got time!

MEHWISH: HAJRA:

My parents understand.

You’ll find someone and settle.

When you’re ready.

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TASLEEM:

When I’m ready! In my own time, in my own

space. FREIDA:

And now its like ‘I want my daughter, to be like you’! Thanks Auntie. That means a lot. Thank you. MEHWISH:

You’re not alone. We’re not alone. I don’t need to feel lonely and really, if you really really think about it. I am free. Free to be. Free to be me. TASLEEM

stands and walks around the others.

TASLEEM:

Human beings are amazing, if you think about it. Vessels, living breathing and if you think about it, so many things could go wrong, do go wrong, but still we carry on. If you think about it, we’re not bad, look at what we’ve achieved, look at how far we’ve come, we are, developing all the time, learning, growing, being better. How our minds work, and that’s just it! But then what? It’s a shame we can’t travel, time travel forward faster. I’d like to visit the future. Someplace that’s not here, somewhere progressive, like tomorrow. Where we all are, And share and be honest about us.

57

I’d like to travel, What would you like to do? Have you heard about Richard Branson’s space program? I wonder if I’ll ever make it that far. I wonder if I’ll get out of here, I wonder if I just wonder.

58

ENDURANCE SAIRA:

(shouts) GLOVES!

The girls get their gloves and stand in channels to begin training sequence – 30 seconds for each section. SAIRA shouts to prompt a change in training. For all moves hands should be in the ‘guard’ position and each move is repeated for 30 seconds. The training area width is between East and West positions. SAIRA:

SIDESTEP!

(Facing North) girls are in a channel formation rather than a line and simply side step at their own speed from one side of the room to the other in the given area. They can speed up or slow down to make sure they don’t end up clumped together. SAIRA:

SHADOW!

(Facing East) turn 90 degrees from previous move. Jog at own pace to the edge of the area. Once reached, take small hops backwards whilst punching out in a straight line to the other edge. Forwards=jogging Backwards=hops with straight punches SAIRA:

AMBREEN!

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(Facing East) still facing the same way but girls line up in a straight line, one behind the other with gaps inbetween each person. Step out to the right then transfer weight from right leg to the left leg in a fluid motion and then step back from left to right repeat. SAIRA:

ALWYN!

(Facing West) turn 180 degrees from previous move. Still in a spaced out straight line with one person behind the other. Step forward with the left foot, then step back with the left foot and then quickly move the right foot forward and throw a right hand punch at the same time saying ‘cha’. SAIRA:

DUCK!

(Facing East) turn 180 degrees from previous move. Still in a spaced out straight line with one person behind the other. Simple head movements just ducking under an imaginary ‘washing line’ side to side. SAIRA:

CHA!

(Facing North) turn 90 degrees anticlockwise from previous move. Again in a spaced out line. Fast shadow boxing, throwing 1,2,3 move i.e. Jab, Cross, Left Hook. Upon throwing the left hook shout ‘cha!’ SAIRA:

TIME!

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The girls all break out individually. They continue to shadow box, moving around the audience now whilst speaking in their own time, to their own rhythm, speaking out of sync and out of time to each other, creating a cacophony of voices. ALL:

Like your life depends on it

Because, it does, Like, there’s no tomorrow There is no Because It matters Matters today Today is change A change tomorrow for today Tomorrow is today! It’s happening Now! Before you know it! Before your eyes 61

It does depend on it, your life It does Every time you do something Every time you, throw a punch Go to work go to school Think imagine Say to yourself This is it This is it now Just one punch This just one punch could end it End it all This one punch could change my life This will change your life And that’s it that’s what you want! That’s what you want from you, That’s what you want from your life

62

You want Your life Life changing The Future your future you Want to be ambitious Your future Your life And the future is now; we’re living it today! You want to help? Carry yourself with dignity carry yourself with pride Never be ashamed never give up never Let anyone tell you You are not good enough Because you belong because you Try your hardest and You are already you already are Good enough already are

63

Are the best Are different, don’t change that Feel your arms, feel your legs, feel your face Feel your face, shake the change And it’s hard, it’s going to be hard, its going to be bloody hard the Hardest thing you’ve ever done because it is hard It matters it’s important and You’re thinking Am I going to get through this? And Am I going to make it? And you are you are going to make it, but you’re afraid now But don’t be afraid Because you’re not giving up and Be brave be On fire Don’t be afraid

64

Ask someone, tell someone, tell everyone anyone you know you’re thinking, feeling Now you’re feeling! That feels good, that feels so good! Doesn’t it? Someone hears you, one person hears you, believes in you If one person listens Cares It makes a difference It makes the world of difference It makes the world a different place to live in And it all makes sense now Where you live You want to live because We want to live Why don’t we live? We want to live here

65

Such a long way Now Let’s go! Let’s just go now Come on. Just, like now it’s happening Here today here right now We’re making it and we’re doing it our way in our time about Now, how we want It better People Like us breathe and be Like just Us You know? Us? And I’m exhausted and 66

Like I’m tired and like I’m It hurts! And it like Hurts and I’m like My arms, I’m My legs and I’m I think I might cry And I think I might still … Keep going Work harder! Try harder! Still and Go on! Come on! Harder than before harder Because It means Never give up Because it means

67

Its important, because it Means something Because Now someone is listening and then Someone is there And there is someone Someone else and Other people like you Like other people Like you there Like people just Like me Like just You and just me and Like, people like us who Like people like you Like us.

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People like us, like people who just Who like, I like, just like Just like me. … No Guts, No Heart, No Guts, No Heart, No Heart, No Guts, No Heart, No Glory. No Guts, No Heart, No Glory. No Guts, No Heart, No Glory. VOICE OF THE INTERVIEWER IS HEARD OVER THE TANNOY INTERVIEWER:

How do you feel when you box?

GIRL BOXER: When I box I feel free, like I can do anything. END

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