by Dr Nazneen Ahmed Pathak. This was me and my 9 year old son, R, at Mayflower Theatre, our biggest commercial theatre in Southampton, yesterday, for some precious mummy-son time, like lots of other families, five minutes before curtains up. Look at his thrilled little face. It’s because he’d...
Opinion Pieces
Letter: City of Culture money should help disadvantaged local children visit theatre
by Corinne Finlay. I would like to see the money (awarded to Southampton as a runner up to becoming City of Culture 2025) go towards opportunities for disadvantaged children to have access to big theatre productions. Some Southampton children will never get the opportunity to see a West End...
Letter: I’m delighted that Satvir Kaur has been selected as a general election candidate
by Jayanti Shah MBE, Director, Positive Message Limited. Picture: Chris Moorhouse. Forty years ago, I was told by someone in Southampton that a non- white person would never get selected let alone win a parliamentary seat on the south coast. I’m delighted and glowing with pride that Satvir Kaur has...
New project exploring lesbian experiences of community in Southampton seeks participants
by Dr Elizabeth Reed. Researchers at the University of Southampton are currently recruiting participants for a project exploring lesbian people’s experience of community in the city, through the pandemic. Southampton’s City of Culture bid celebrated our diverse communities and cultures and set out a plan to make our city...
Opinion: why I’ll be protesting when Jimmy Carr comes to Southampton
by Manthan Pathak. Jimmy Carr returns to perform at the city’s Mayflower Theatre next month, and so it seems like an opportune time to revisit his joke about the Holocaust that caused so much furore after his latest Netflix special. I’m a member of Southampton Stand Up to Racism,...
Opinion: being part of Southampton’s City of Culture 2025 bid has already meant so much to me
by Issa Loyaan Farrah-Kelly. In January of this year, I was commissioned to write a poem for the Southampton City of Culture 2025 bid. I was enthused to become a part in the bid, and in a sense represent my hometown. Initially, I had been cynical about the bid....
Opinion: why Transgender Day of Visibility matters
Levi Wellman, chairwoman of People’s Pride Southampton As a transgender woman, Transgender Day of Visibility (TDoV), celebrated on March 31, is a very important day for me. Throughout the year, news surrounding trans people is either negative, or we are only mentioned when achievements from trans people are solely...
Letter: unpaid carers will be bitterly disappointed by Chancellor’s Spring Statement
by Carers Trust’s Chief Executive Officer, Kirsty McHugh. “Carers Trust research last month showed that unpaid carers are at the sharp end of the cost of living crisis. However, the Chancellor has again missed the opportunity to support unpaid carers, without whom our health and social care system would...
Opinion: almost 30 years on, marching against racism is still sadly necessary
by Manthan Pathak. On Saturday (March 19) I attended a march against racism in central London to commemorate UN Anti-Racist Day, along with a coach full of campaigners from Southampton Stand Up to Racism (SUTR) and around 10,000 others from across the country. The first anti-racism demonstration I attended...
Opinion: We need to stand together for the people of Ukraine
by Jonathan Mitchell. The way the British government has responded to the Ukrainian refugee crisis has been nothing short of a moral failure. After two weeks of intense and brutal fighting and indiscriminate violent from the Russian forces, as of 16 March only 6,100 refugees have been issued visas...