Thirteen year old, Naadir, from Pakistan, is the new boy at Lister Community School in London’s East End. Naadir’s father has sent him to England after the violent death of his mother and aunt in a bombing in their home city, Peshawar, in the hope that Naadir will be safe and get a good education. At school, the gang ‘Lister Legends’, bully Naadir mercilessly.

How does Naadir face his predicament?

The play, Pastimes, invites us to consider another way of dealing with our pain and anger rather than lashing out and hurting one another, and recognises that dialogue and understanding are vital to transform situations of war and conflict.

Pastimes interweaves the past and present day, and parallels the Blitz and child evacuation during wartime London with Naadir’s experience of being separated from own his family.

The play also celebrates stories from diverse cultures – English, Irish, Jewish and Caribbean – and draws on oral history testimonies of young people living in London’s East End in the 1940s.

Pastimes features song, dance, music and film, as well as a suspense-filled marble competition!