The Engagement Party - Oldham Coliseum Theatre Queen Elizabeth Hall

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​Boss goes undercover at
The Engagement Party…

A director very rarely gets raw, unfiltered and immediate feedback from those watching the show.

I’m a Black, working-class, woman creative, living and working in the UK.
Like many others, I have the ability to be both hyper visible and disappear right before your eyes. How can this be? I’m hidden in plain sight.

Having mentored many up-and-coming directors, I’ve learned that there’s preconceived notions of what a boss director looks like. They conjure a man, often white and middle class.

By the time they finish with me, they’re at the centre of their own story.

My job in The Engagement Party was Creative Director, which is to say, the boss, I’m responsible for the creative decisions made, from the writer, to the cast who joined us, right up to the choice of venue and songs.

In the interval you may have come across a Black woman with a bin liner. She collected the chip wrappers and rubbish from the tables. It was a dash to get across the floor and attempt to speak with everyone in the room. I know, because that woman was me. 

We were ambitious; we wanted strong ticket sales, and to bring a community together that's as wide and diverse as Oldham itself. And we achieved this, in our cast, and audiences, who sat side by side.

It was heartening to see communities get hold of a ticket to the party, and every performance practically sold out in their excitement. Some ticket-buyers even chose to ‘pay it forward’ and purchase tickets for others.

An audience member said it was ‘rare to see such a diverse audience in Oldham,’ and that they felt proud to be sitting in a party that reflected the proper Oldham.

I am proud of our collaboration with local businesses, working to build back together.

A shout out goes to ParmoHaus Chicken Shop - the owner attended the show: he had never been to a play before, and he loved it. The Engagement Party had a number of elements to it. Foyer pre-show fun, live music, screen and immersive interaction with the community cast. At the interval, to make sure we shared the love, every table received a bag of chips provided by another local business: Georgia Chicken Shop of Oldham. 

I wanted to meet the people who had taken the time to join us for the party. 

I grabbed the bin liner whilst removing chip containers and wrappers, I asked the audience how they were finding the show.  I went largely undetected - even though my big grinning face was plastered on the screen,alongside audiences who took their pictures in the photo booth.

It was good banter. One table had heard about the chips through one of the Community Cast members, so at half time had bought their own ketchup! I told them if I see any ketchup on the table cloths that the cast member would be doing the laundry, and not me as I’d had enough to do  with collecting the rubbish!  

Some people offered me a chip whilst telling me they were enjoying the show, and how unusual It was. A handful of people let me know they were struggling to hear and I thanked them for letting me know, promising to pass it on. I did.

Some audience members did recognise me and were shocked to see the Creative Director acting as the cleaner, whilst others less familiar asked me to get them water from the bar. It appeared they were truly immersed in the experience!

This halftime was a play in itself. I saw a large group of Asian women eating chips and taking selfies with the Moroccan-style decor in the beautifully transformed space - cleverly designed by Emma Williams. Throughout the week there were many stories, including a large group of teenagers sitting together and having a go at everything, including volunteering as models for the wedding dress game, which they won! We played the game against the backdrop of the song Flash Bang Wallop, sung and played with fun and joy by Zee and her fellow musicians.

I spoke to a group of African Caribbean elders who were on a Friday night outing. One of them carried a walking stick, and was wearing a pink tracksuit, her wooly hat resembling a silver crown. They loved that one of the characters playing an elder looked so much like their very own woolly hat Queen.

In my role as cleaner, I was privileged to get up close and personal and ask the question about the experience. After all, it was made for the people, by the people - with love, ambition and clear intentions.

There were couples holding hands, best mates sat with bags of sweets,and families together.  All around was joy, the coming together of people in a shared space.

Ending with an audience-led dancefloor takeover was an ambition we achieved every night. I will never forget the joy of witnessing an older Asian woman fling off her coat revealing a beautiful red and gold sari and running onto the dance floor, all whilst her friends whipped their phones out and filmed her joy. Everyone was welcome on that dancefloor, or at the table. As the tagline states, it is a production everyone gets a seat at the table.

To be a Black, working class woman means to use my insight and instincts as a superpower, and not to give in to what society has planned for me or people like us.

To me, this is a play about the joy of sharing space. We’re very proud of all the joy and opportunities we achieved through producing this production - for the cast, the musicians, the filmmakers, the creatives, the technicians, the theatre, and Oldham.

And to the audiences - If you came to see The Engagement Party last week, thank you for joining the party.