'Extremism' plays wins praise

A powerful play has been hailed for tackling both Islamic extremism and far-right politics. Tameside drama company GW Theatre has won national praise for a hard-hitting play which tells the stories of troublemakers in both Muslim and white families. The production, One Extreme to the Other, has already been seen by more than 100 schools and community groups around the country. Writer and theatre group founder Mike Harris created the play following the London bomb attacks of 2005 and interviewed families, community groups and politicians in Oldham about their experiences. The hour-long play tells the stories of an Islamic extremist and a racist politician who visit different neighbourhoods of the same town and try to enlist youngsters to their cause. Actor David Jones said: "The issues aren't always easy for people to talk about, but after watching the play, it is easier for people to talk about what they've seen.
"We wanted to provoke young people into thinking about why people became extremists - either politically or from a religious point of view. "Oldham council was trying to get people to talk to each other and wanted a challenging way of bringing these issues up - and they supported us." The play, praised in a government report on tackling extremism, was also performed at the House of Commons.A website set up by the drama group - extremenews.org.uk - allows pupils and teachers to develop issues raised by the production. The Asian News