Windrush remembered through power of music

Rush – A Joyous Jamaican Journey is helping to

Alive

THE SECOND City is to host the return of a well-loved theatre production set for a national tour to mark the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the feted Empire Windrush.

Rush – A Joyous Jamaican Journey will once again seek to further underscore the significant role music played in the early years of mass immigration from the Caribbean and amongst subsequent generations.

Kicking-off on April 26 at the famed Birmingham Repertory Theatre, the show will again boast the eloquent and poignant narration of John Simmit.

The show includes musical accompaniment from the JA Reggae Band, plus vocalists Ika and Janice Williamson in homage to the contribution ska, calypso, soul, reggae and gospel plus Caribbean customs and traditions have made to British culture.

Musical Director Orvil Pinnock told The Voice: “I am excited about the tour. It keeps the history, life and issues of the Windrush Generation in the minds of the theatre-going public, celebrating this wonderful generation of people who sacrificed a lot for their respective countries and Great Britain.

“We hope the viewers will, firstly, enjoy the music and atmosphere, and also take away a sense of pride in the Windrush Generation and their contributions to British society.

“Also, despite the political issues that dominate the news about migrants, they will understand that migrants are important and necessary to every society.”

Rush’s Associate Director Sara Myers, inset left, added: “The show has been going for six years and has been so well reviewed, and the theatres it has been through have invited us back!

“So many of the people who have come to the show have recognised how much Caribbean communities have brought to this country: like the (radio) grams, (glass) fish, ornaments. We have grandparents bringing their grandchildren to see it and vice versa.”

A fascinating subplot has been stirring in the background, which has enabled Sara to

‘meet’ her late grandfather, Gilford Rankin, and incorporate his story into the production.

The connection came through finding a cousin, Shani Ware, when both had traced their ancestry through separate online platforms. They found that Mr Rankin is the half-brother of Shani’s great-grandfather. The former came to the UK on the original SS Empire Windrush voyage in June 1948.

“I connected with Shani early last year. We started talking and sharing family photos. I didn’t know much about my family tree. She found my grandfather’s boarding pass and other details, photos, etc. I recognised him from a pop-up exhibition but didn’t realise it was my grandfather!

“I’ve grown up as a first-generation Briton that is fragmented from both sides of my family, so to discover this connection with Shani and finding these records is a little like a treasure hunt that has given me a sense of belonging, grounding and connection.”

Tour Dates 2023

April 26-29: Birmingham Repertory Theatre (28th will be signed for the deaf); May 12: Ulverston, The Coro; May 18: Liverpool Playhouse; May 20: Llanelli; May 31: Derby Theatre (will be signed for the deaf); June 10: Leeds Playhouse; June 14: Crawley, The Hawth; June 20: York Theatre Royal; June 22: Wolverhampton Grand (will be signed for the deaf); June 23: Hackney Empire, London; June 28: Dunstable, The Grove; July 8: Edinburgh Festival Theatre; September 1-2: Oxford Playhouse; September 9: The Palace, Watford; September 30: Hexagon, Reading; October 4: Doncaster CAST; October 7: roydon airfield Halls; October 20: Cardiff, The Sherman; October 21: enue to be confirmed

This connection has added poignancy for Sara: “It’s great to be able to share this with my mother, who is now 80; also with my father, despite him having motor neurone disease.

“To have this link to my grandad who I never met is incredible! To have a picture of him and even his mother (Lydia Beatrice McKay, March 1884 to June 1975) has given me a real sense of connection, that I’m part of something bigger, which means so much.”

“I decided to check my ancestry because I was fed up with hearing bits and pieces about my family history,” Shani revealed. “My mum didn’t grow up with her father, and no-one in the family talks about the family tree or uses real names, so it was really hard to trace anything back.”

The cousins have found all manner of interesting links: including that their mothers once lived on the same street in Bristol decades ago without knowing they were related!

“It is lovely to have actual photos of my ancestors: I teach Black history to my daughters, whom I home-school. My husband is white English and has details and photos of his family going way back so it’s really nice to have some names and pictures too,” Shani added.

“This process has impressed on me the real importance that families share stories, that they passed down before they die to give the coming generations that sense of connectedness that is so important.”

Now gearing up for a nationwide tour, with her own personal history bolstered, Sara has similarly grand plans for the production. “I would love to see the show go international — back to Jamaica so they can see what we are doing here, with things like lovers’ rock, which is British, which we developed here.”

TOP OF HER PROFESSION: Entrepreneur Kameese Davis whose pitch for investment for her hair care products business won her the Minerva Birmingham Pitch Up contest at the Venturefest WM 2023 Festival of Innovation

A MIDLANDS entrepreneur has once again struck investment gold by scooping top prize at the Venturefest WM Festival of Innovation in winning this year’s Minerva Birmingham Pitch Up competition.

In front of an audience of more than 500 entrepreneurs, innovators and investors, Kameese Davis clinched £3,000 in prize money and a package of bespoke business support for her business, Sandwellbased Nylah Hair, Heritage and Science, which specialises in providing quality products for African and curly hair care.

The feat follows Kameese’s 2022 triumph when she landed £50,000 of investment funds for her range of vegan plant-based hair care products during a televised appearance on Dragons’ Den

“Winning the Minerva Birmingham Pitch Up means so much to me,” she said.

“It’s given me a massive confidence boost in terms of the product and brand be- ing an attractive proposition for investors. It also gave me the opportunity to speak and engage directly with people who are interested in helping the brand maximise its full potential.”

Over the past eight years, Minerva Birmingham Pitch Up – which is run by the Centre for Growth at Aston University, BizzInn at the University of Birmingham and Minerva at the University of Warwick Science Park – has put scores of entrepreneurs directly in front of investors and brought over £40m of investments to the region’s small businesses.

The day also offered inspiration for would-be entrepreneurs in the roll-out of the region’sPlan for Growthand forthcoming Trailblazing Devolution Deal with national government, in a bid to ramp up regional development. The event also featured keynote speaker Megan Goodwin, who spearheaded the digital development of worldwide TV blockbuster Who Wants to be a Millionaire?