Case Study: Curl Girl Theatre Productions

Making the most of… participatory opportunities for communities

Curl Girl Theatre Productions is a small, Birmingham-based theatre company, established in 2023 by Kiren Jogi, a professional actress, writer and creative practitioner. Their mission centres around “celebrating South Asian culture and identity through dynamic storytelling” and they aim to create interactive and participatory work for communities .

Curl Girl is open to all audiences who are interested in experiencing and learning about South Asian culture “both British and homegrown”. This case study explores the Happy Hour Project, which was commissioned and supported by CBC in 2023. It is based upon an interview we conducted with Kiren about her work, and draws on feedback shared by participants. 

“A very small theatre company in the West Midlands wanting to make a lot of noise”

Creative social experiment

Happy Hour was Curl Girl’s first project; described as “a creative social experiment”, it brought together 15 South Asian women aged 50+ from the Sandwell Valley region of Birmingham and aimed to help them “reconnect with the community”. The project ran for 12 weeks, commencing 27th September 2023, and involved a series of weekly 2-hour sessions, combining varied creative activities such as painting, dance, poetry and yoga, with storytelling and discussion activities. These created an “open forum where participants shared their happy migration stories and experiences”. There was also a group theatre trip to the MAC in Birmingham, which for many of the women “was their first experience of watching a stage show”. In addition, Kiren was supported to facilitate six of the sessions by two volunteers. 

“It was great to meet the group of ladies from our neighbourhood. We [have] lived here for 40 years and never meet them personally, talk to them or get to know them. This project gave us the chance to come closer to our neighbours.” (Participant feedback) 

The aim of the project was to gather real stories and memories to inspire and form the basis of a script and/or podcast. Kiren “managed to record some fantastic stories and heartfelt experiences” during conversations in the workshops. A first draft script entitled “The Valley of Queens” has since been developed and was shared in a rehearsed reading in February 2024. This event was also supported by CBC and workshop participants were invited to attend, as well as local creative practitioners. Kiren hopes to gain Arts Council funding to develop this script into a full-length play, which will be an important legacy of the project as the voices, stories and memories of local South Asian women are captured. The rehearsed reading was very well-received, and feedback suggested that the play “captured the true essence and fighting spirit of these wonderful women and celebrated their lives through the narrative”.  

“The aim is to work with South Asian women between the ages of 50 and 75+ in the Sandwell region and provide them with a platform to socially reconnect, focus on mental health and wellbeing and engage in creative activities and storytelling”

Kiren first found out about CBC via social media and applied for a Creative Connections Commission. The team worked with her to develop the scale and scope of the project and also supported the work by sharing and reposting about Happy Hour on social media, bringing awareness of Curl Girl’s work to a wider audience. Although Kiren is an experienced creative, starting a theatre company and beginning to produce work was a new venture for her. As a result, she greatly valued CBC’s “direction” and assistance, particularly with financial support and administration, to help her launch Curl Girl and bring this project to life. 

“Being new to Sandwell, it was a great stepping stone to have CBC at my doorstep, to provide me with the support to carry on running my own creative practice. It’s really given me the confidence to carry out something like this again – it’s given me more arts administration confidence” (Feedback from Kiren) 

Although the project had primarily focused on engaging participants creatively, some “bigger changes” gradually emerged for many of the women involved. In particular, Happy Hour provided a vital social outlet which improved their wellbeing and combated the sense of loneliness and isolation many of them had experienced. Participants shared that the sessions gave them “an emotional lift”, improved their mood and helped them “get out of the house and socialise”.

In one case, someone’s anti-depressant medication was able to be reduced by half by the end of the sessions. They stated that because of their depression they “couldn’t go out in public, but this group [brought] my confidence back”. Another was “grateful for the encouragement” to rejoin the gym after a 10 year break; this was something she used to do regularly with her husband until he passed away, and a Happy Hour gym session helped her to reconnect with this.  

“The impact has been fantastic… the biggest highlight was seeing these ladies shed that layer of bleakness or darkness that they had and just smiling and laughing and looking forward to being part of a group” (Feedback from Kiren) 

Many participants shared in feedback forms that “making new friends and creating bonds”, “spending time” together and “sitting and talking about each other’s experiences” were highlights of the project. One in particular felt that she had been positively impacted by “making new friendships and feeling part of the community”. The group were keen to continue meeting after the project ended and some of the women have even started their own walking group, going on regular walks together. 

“It has been a real journey of discovery, finding joy in meeting new people, connecting and doing new things. Also [having] a safe space to remember and share, laugh and celebrate who we are. It also reminds us that there are wonderful people in our community. Sincere thanks for this experience” (Participant feedback) 

As she became so personally invested in the project, Happy Hour became more time-consuming than Kiren had anticipated, and this is something she will consider when planning future work. Kiren felt she would have benefitted from a bigger support network of volunteers to help her deliver the weekly sessions, and suggested that it might be useful for CBC to curate a pool of creatives and volunteers who they can recommend and/or match to projects.  This would be especially helpful for practitioners such as Kiren who are new to the Sandwell/Birmingham area and could draw on CBC’s local knowledge about the Black Country, including venues and potential collaborators.  

Moving forward, a priority for Kiren is growing Curl Girl, accessing funding to build a small team, including creative producers, and exploring “how to make it sustainable” for the future – CBC has already begun positive conversations about how they can continue to support this journey. 

Ultimately, CBC’s support enabled Kiren’s ambitions for Happy Hour to be realised, and she describes her experience of working with them as “fantastic”. Their input has also inspired a core commitment to community in her creative practice moving forward, as Kiren now wishes to continue reaching into the community and using creativity to positively impact local people’s lives. She feels that this interest has been cultivated through her collaboration with CBC, where an ethos of community and creativity naturally resonates. 

“What this commission allowed me to do was to give me confidence to start working again. I’ve had two children and taken a 5-year career break, and transitioning from being an actor to a producing actress is a big change… CBC believed in me and gave me that confidence…it’s fantastic and I’m grateful for all the support.” (Feedback from Kiren)