Play stirs mums and daughters

Knives, Forks and Fingers

A STORY to celebrate the special mother-daughter relationship was played out at Oldham Coliseum as part of London Southbank Centre’s Alchemy Festival.

“Knives, Forks and Fingers” was inspired by the Indian subcontinent tradition of women talking and cooking together - sharing a unique bond perhaps enjoyed in no other relationship.

The play revolved around mother Fahmida (Harvey Virdi) and daughter Shazia (Anjli Mohindra), whose dramatised tale of cooking, food and mother-daughter bonding was showcased alongside audio recordings from women across the country, sharing memories of cooking with their own mothers.

What was special about Saturday’s 30-minute play was that it was inspired by stories told by Oldham’s Women’s CHAI Morning Group.

The support group - CHAI stands for Care, Help and Inspire — which meets at Greenhill Academy, Glodwick, joined Oldham Coliseum and the Southbank Centre to produce the play.

Najma Khalid, founder of the women’s CHAI Morning Group, said: “We just wanted to celebrate the mother-daughter relationship. I felt so proud of what we, as the group, have achieved.”

Harvey Virdi, who has starred in “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Citizen Khan”, said the message of the play was universal.

She added: “It has been very moving, talking to people after the show. We’ve had people coming up to us wanting to share their stories. It’s nice to think it took this reminder to appreciate what we have.”