115. From Asylum Seeking to Cricket – with Hassan Akkad, Shomit Dutta and Andrew Lancel

Break Out Culture With Ed Vaizey by Country and Town House

We talk to Hassan Akkad, who came to the UK as an asylum seeker from Syria and who earned a BAFTA for his BBC documentary ‘Exodus: Our Journey to Europe’, which used real footage from his journey from Syria. Hassan tells us about his short film, ‘Matar’, which tells the story of a day in the life asylum-seeker Matar as he tries to survive in London without being able to work legally or have a bank account.

‘Matar’ stars Ahmed Malek, who recently starred in ‘The Swimmers’, the feature film about the Mardini sisters escaping war-torn Syria. Both superb swimmers, the sisters sought asylum in Germany and Yusra Mardini went on to earn an Olympic gold medal. Hassan also tells us about projecting his short 90 second message ‘Led by Donkeys’ onto the White Cliffs of Dover.

We also talk to Shomit Dutta, who wrote the play ‘Stumped’ about an imaginary game of cricket between Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett, and to Andrew Lancel, who plays Pinter in the play. Who knew that Beckett, played in ‘Stumped’ by Stephen Tompkinson, is the only Nobel Prize Winner to have an entry in Wisden? Shomit and Andrew discuss the joys of cricket and the dramatic opportunities the game offers to explore the friendship between two of the greatest dramatists of our time.

‘Matar’ can be viewed free here at Waterbear.com.

‘Stumped’ plays at Theatre Royal Bath between 23rd and 27th May, at Cambridge Arts Theatre between 5th and 10th June and finally at the Hampstead Theatre in London between 16th June and the 22nd July.

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