Tapestry lasts for approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes and takes place in a school hall or similar large room. When the young people arrive in the hall they can put bags and coats to one side and take a seat.
The Play House team introduces themselves and the themes of the drama to the young people by asking them to indicate whether they agree or disagree with some key statements. The young people are asked to imagine that they have been shopping in the city centre on a Saturday afternoon when a parade of troops returning from Iraq has been met by angry protests. They have taken cover in a derelict shop unit. The drama begins with a movement and sound montage of images and text that set the context of recent world events in relation to violent extremism. The noises of the protest can be heard. Jason a member of the right wing Young Patriots league enters the shop unit in a state of great agitation looking for his friend Nazia. She is a British Muslim of Pakistani origin and is Jason’s sister in law and arrives shortly after him. He advises her to go home but before she can act on this they are interrupted by Hassan, also seeking shelter, he is a member of the opposing Islamist organisation The Circle of Truth. There is a fight between the young men that Nazia stops. The protest has escalated into a riot and it is now impossible to leave.
Nazia tackles both of the men about what they think they are doing and they lay out their opposing positions. As she challenges both Jason and Hassan they begin to recount incidents from their lives that have shaped their thinking pressing one another into service to illustrate their points.
Hassan recalls a moment after the London tube bombings, at a bus stop and Jason counters with a typical moment from his experiences of trying to find a job. They both illustrate moments of their home life and recall meeting and listening to charismatic speakers that seem to have answers to their grievances, and propose action to remedy them.
Nazia challenges them about where their current path will lead them and, having attempted to reason with them to no noticeable effect, leaves. Both Hassan and Jason try to call her back but she is injured in the riot – the young men leave the shop to try and help her.
There is a pause in the drama. The young people get the chance to talk to Jason and Hassan to try and find out what has happened and suggest what they do next.
The young people are asked to consider why Jason and Hassan have got involved in their respective organisations and what activities they think they may be involved in, in the near future if they stay involved. The young people are asked to consider who else might be affected by these actions. They create a still image in small groups to illustrate some of the consequences and implications of Hassan and Jason’s potential future actions This image is interrogated using a variety of drama strategies.
The young people then reconvene as an audience once more to watch a final scene in which Jason and Hassan meet a week later at the hospital where they have both decided to visit Nazia. They have both been reflecting on the events of the last week and have begun to question their association with the Young Patriots and the Circle of Truth.
The performance ends and the young people are asked to suggest what Jason and Hassan should do next if they still want to change things. These suggestions are recorded onto post it notes and stuck on the flag that is central to the set. A final rhetorical question is posed for the young people to take away and consider as a stimulus for any follow on work.
You can see extracts from Tapestry in the YouTube clip below. This website also offers a variety of activities designed to support this legacy.
