Tales from the Front Line, Parts 1 and 2

One of the many things the Covid-19 pandemic has given us is a new perspective on the value placed on the various professions of our working world and how we express that. After the first lockdown was announced we very quickly learned that among the most undervalued in society are our front-line workers. Without them – the nurses, cleaners, supermarket staff and public transport operatives – the country would literally and metaphorically grind to a halt.

Talawa Theatre Company’s latest digital offering is a series of six short films that give a glimpse into the lives of some of the Black people behind those jobs.

In part one we hear the words of a secondary teacher – spoken by Jo Martin and directed by Michael Buffong – describing the frustration of oscillating between orders of business-as-usual from senior management and increased questioning from anxious teenagers.

In part two, Sapphire Joy is a recovery worker in a mental-health hospital. Kwame Asiedu’s direction is striking, juxtaposing the chaos of the sound of the recovery worker’s story against the serenity of the visuals of a yoga sun salutation.

At a time where the future of the arts industry hangs in the balance, here is more evidence in the case to save it. This is a necessary art – an example of the way theatre can be used to educate and promote understanding. Where else can we hear the unadulterated stories of our front-line workers told in their own words?