Exploring folk tales from war-torn areas in Brighton show

The play will be at Brighton Dome, December 20-22 with evening and matinee performances.

Katya Schwarz, assistant producer, said: “Stories are everywhere. On the tip of every tongue in the pages of every book. Some are harder to find, forgotten with time but even in the darkest places, lift a stone and you might find one. You just have to look.”

“Let it Be a Tale is a play that explores community, resistance, and the need to find hope in dark times. This winter season, this family show is a thrilling collaboration between the young people of ThirdSpace Theatre aged 12-23 and an award-winning creative team of established artists.

“This heartwarming new play will burst onto the stage with colour, sound, vibrancy, and fun – combining song, movement, chorus as well as live music from Best Foot Music, a local organisation that supports musicians from refugee and migrant backgrounds.”

Director Tanushka Marah said: “As a company, we’ve researched stories from Haiti, Burma, many parts of the Middle East, Ukraine, and the Congo. We believe it’s important that these areas are not only known for the trauma they have lived through, but also for their rich history, folktales being part of this. So many young minds have come together to create the fabric of this piece, engaging with the power of storytelling and the importance of keeping culture alive through ancient tales which stand the test of time, and now we’re looking at how to bring it all together in a fun-packed celebration.

“Written with the young ensemble cast, the script has been a product of the unique collaborative process used by ThirdSpace Theatre. Many of its stories and songs have been discovered through working with young people in rehearsals to create a spectacularly eclectic and heartfelt play.”

Taiwo, Let it Be a Tale cast member, said: “It’s good because you get to make it brighter, better - an amazing, fantastic show when you’re including everyone’s talent. [...] So many people, different people, different mindsets, different talents, which is insane.”

Let it Be a Tale has been funded by Arts Council England, as well as the UK government and Brighton & Hove City Council through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and will be performed at Brighton Dome’s Studio Theatre on December 20, 21 and 22 at 7pm, as well as a relaxed performance on December 21 at 3.30pm.

ThirdSpace Theatre currently runs seventeen drama clubs for five to 25 years at locations across Brighton, Hove and Lewes. More than one third of places are currently attended for free and heavily subsidised places are available for those who otherwise could not afford access to the arts. Everyone is welcome.

The diverse cast include heritage/ backgrounds from Ghana, Libya, Ukraine, Palestine, Nigeria and Lithuania.

The play’s title, Let it Be a Tale, is the final line of If I Must Die, a poem by Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza on December 6 2023.