A new play based on a true story of a family of hibakusha

TALES FROM MY GRANDMOTHER
One Aircraft. One Weapon. One City. Three Women’s Stories. 
Friday 8th November 7:30pm 
October Gallery Theatre Space (no disabled access)  
24 Old Gloucester Street WC1N 3AL

A warm invitation to the rehearsed reading of Narrative Life’s new play Tales From My Grandmother performed by Tomoko Komura and directed by Juan Ayala. The script is written by Elizabeth Ingrams based on a true story of a family of hibakusha (as survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are known) researched over a ten-year period (2012-2022). Hibakusha (as represented by the Japanese Organization Nihon Hidankyo) were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday 11 October 2024.

Ai is a Japanese teenager but she’s not enjoying school. Eiko, her grandmother, miraculously survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on 6th August 1945, although her body was scarred forever. Her mother Hitomi tells the story of ‘that day’ to primary school children. With this emotionally difficult background, Ai is suddenly faced with two challenges. The first is to enter a public speaking competition about her grandmother’s experience: 

‘If I tell my grandmother’s story, no one at school will support me, no one will believe me/My sister and brothers and my classmates will not want me to do this./I want to have a future, fly abroad, study and fall in love...’ 

Secretly entering a virtual reality portal, Ai meets an avatar friend. Will he help her unravel her destiny and face her second challenge? Everything comes back to 'that day' when one plane and one weapon took out a whole city for the first time in history.

The play is made possible through the support of the Great British Sasakawa Foundation. The producer, Narrative Life, hopes to produce a full production in advance of the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki next year.

You can follow Tales From My Grandmotheron Instagram for the latest updates and podcasts.  More info : Elizabeth Ingramsand Tomoko Komura

The rehearsed reading is FREE but booking is essential. To book a ticket please click here.  

There may be a short film extract to view after the event.