Excerpt from the Fitzrovia Neighbourhood News, December 1983
Characters
Sadia: Amelia’s mother. Arrived to London from East Pakiston (now Bangladesh) two years ago with her family following the Indian and Pakistan partition of 1947. Stubborn and strong.
Young Amelia: 8-year-old girl who is quick to pick-up on stories and sayings.
Old Amelia: 30-year-old woman who is actively involved in shaping the story of the Fitzrovia community.
Joy: 9-year-old boy who is, by his mother Amelia’s urgings, learning Bengali from his upstairs neighbor and, from his father’s urgings, learning Hindi from his next-door neighbor.
Hartley/Security Guard: Member of the Westminster City Council who is firmly against the closure of the Portland Library, played by the same actor as the security guard, a gruff man who is annoyingly British and puffs up his chest.
Setting
A two-story library, open to the audience like a doll house. A checkout counter is off-center on the first floor. A few armchairs and cushions are strewn across the second floor amongst the stacks. Steps lead down from the first floor. The façade of two buildings frame the library. At times, photos of newspaper clippings are projected onto the front of the buildings. In front of each building is a quaint set of dining tables and chairs.
Time
1962, the year of the Immigrants Act in the UK, and 1984, a year of resistance and change.
Script
A rough sketch of the set
Newspaper clippings for projections
