Play inspired by Windrush Scandal brings UK tour to Manchester
ITV News' Sam Taylor went to meet the cast and crew as they prepare for the final stop of their tour.
A play that tells the story of the Windrush Scandal from the perspective of a group of pensioners is being staged in Manchester.
The Windrush Warriors, which was written by and stars Coronation Street actor Nicola Gardner, is a "multi-ethnic comedy drama" that has toured the country telling the story of the Windrush generation.
Nicola said: "It’s an affectionate story about people in the autumn of their lives. The show is a life-affirming view of survivors; children of the Windrush generation. The Windrush scandal and its attendant hypocrisy is laid bare in this show.
"The show exposes the unfair predicament of people who having lived and worked in the UK for decades, are now heartlessly being shown that they are undesirable."
The Windrush generation are those who arrived in the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1973.
Many took up jobs in the NHS and other sectors affected by Britain’s post-war labour shortage.
It is called Windrush because a ship called The Empire Windrush brought one of the first large groups of Caribbean people to the UK on June 22, 1948.
At the time, the Caribbean was a part of the British commonwealth which meant those who arrived were automatically British subjects and free to permanently live and work in the UK.
But, the scandal began to surface in 2018 after it emerged, due to changes in the immigration system, thousands of Commonwealth citizens, many of whom were from the Windrush generation, were wrongly detained, deported and denied legal rights.
It was through talking to the people whose lives were upturned by the scandal that Nicola was inspired to write The Windrush Warriors.
Nicola said: "I spoke to them first hand and got their accounts, and that made me sit down and write this play."
The show's director, John Klark, added: "It’s been a real honour to bring those real life stories to the stage - this has happened to real people and it’s important to keep those stories alive and in the forefront of people’s minds."
The show features a diverse cast and crew, including Jewish, Irish, and Afro-Caribbean actors who all bring their lived experiences to the role.
Lukeland Chambers plays Brother Leroy, a "boisterous but fun" pensioner who arrived in the UK on the HMT Empire Windrush.
Lukeland said: "His job really is to rally the troops, keep everyone focused but also have fun while also supplying a lot of rum."
As the son of two members of the Windrush generation, Lukeland was able to draw on the experiences of his parents for the role.
He said: "They are the Windrush generation so I’ve often heard stories of how they were treated when they first arrived - so when I got the role it was a great reason to delve into that and use it for my character."
His fellow actor, Tommy C. Carey, was able to draw on his Irish heritage to relate to members of the Windrush generation.
He said: "As an Irish person, when we arrived in the 80s we weren’t really welcome… so for that reason I could really relate to the Windrush Generation."
The Windrush scandal and compensation scheme was introduced in April 2019, but five years on many have struggled to get the money they are entitled to.
Anthony Brown is a lawyer that represents and supports members of the Windrush Generation, and is also a founding member of Windrush Legal Defenders CIC in Moss Side.
He said: "A lot of trauma has taken place... The compensation scheme has been introduced but it's very confusing and a lot of people don't trust them."
However, Anthony Brown feels real progress is being made to right the wrongs of the Windrush scandal.
He said: "We’ve made a number of recommendations, but we’ve also realised that the community has faced detrimental factors in other areas such as education, health, art, and they all widen the disparity and add to the trauma.
"And we’ve found the Home Office is listening to that - and they are willing to work with communities up and down the country."
One of the recommendations the Windrush Legal Defenders CIC made to the Home Office involved encouraging art and theatre to help bring communities together and provide funding for projects like the Windrush Warriors.
Anthony said: "These communities have their own art, like Caribbean Carnival or sound systems, and that can bring people together. But we should also encourage things like plays and theatre to help tell our story both in and out of our communities."
The Windrush Warriors ends its UK tour at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation in Manchester with five performances between 25 - 29 June.
Windrush Day has been held on 22 June every year since 2018, to celebrate the contribution Caribbean migrants and their families have made to the UK
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