Retail stores in West Brom are being taken over by actors for live interactive storytelling

A free mini theatre festival is set to take place in West Bromwich this weekend, with performances being held in actively running businesses.

Actors and music artists are taking their talent to retail spaces in the Sandwell market town, including in an Afro Caribbean fast food shop, a hairdressers, an Asian sari store, a coffee shop and  in the indoor popular West Bromwich market.

Each of the pieces have been inspired by the shops and customers who use them, utilising a combination of real experiences and creative flare to tell stories about the people who make up local communities.

In the coffee shop setting, the story is narrated by Jake Oldershaw, who has used customer’s experience to create themes of love, forgiveness and hope; while rapper and spoken-word artist Lady Sanity uses the sounds and voices of how people feel about beauty in the hairdressers.

Actor Amahra Spence plays several characters drawing on how people support one another in an Afro-Caribbean shop.

Poet Bohdan Piasecki plays the role of a game show host with glitz and glamour, while visual performer Vimal Korpal is transformed into a Maharaja, sharing stories from sari, alteration and clothing shops with themes of family and survival.

Composer Ricardo Santos Rocha has created the music and performs live accompanying the artists.

The performances are the creative work of Black Country Touring, a Midlands based theatre company that specialises in capturing local stories and sharing them with the community.

Each mini show is for customers as well as the passing public all for free, with performances having taken place on 13th and 14th September; and again next weekend on 20th and 21st September.

Where to find the venues and performances:

The Black Country Touring performances take place on 27th and 28th September across Wolverhampton. More details at: www.bctouring.co.uk.