Colchester Cultural Strategy: Hanif Kureishi Evening at Mercury Theatre

Colchester Borough Council (CBC) is thrilled to announce an evening with Hanif Kureishi at Colchester’s Mercury Theatre, on the 1 September 2021.

The free event has been organised as part of the council’s consultation on the development of a new Cultural Strategy for the borough, to be launched later this year and to be in place until 2030.

Hanif Kureishi, the celebrated novelist and screenwriter, will be reading from his seminal work The Buddha of Suburbia. The reading will be followed by a discussion of Colchester’s cultural future and will allow the audience the opportunity to ask questions and submit their views on what should be included in the strategy.

When complete the new cultural strategy will reflect and build upon the borough’s diverse cultural landscape, including the arts, creative industries, heritage and the public realm, and the links to tourism and events.

An online public consultation gathering feedback and ideas to help shape the cultural offer over the next decade is already underway. Residents can take part by completing a short survey by following this link: Colchester Cultural Strategy and can watch the film narrated by Anthony Roberts of Colchester Arts Centre, to find out more.

Colchester already has an incredibly vibrant and thriving cultural offering and the aim of the Hanif Kureishi event and public consultation is to enable CBC to help grow and develop this sector, increase participation and ensure it is accessible for all the borough’s residents.

Councillor Darius Laws, Portfolio Holder for Economy, Business and Heritage, said: “Huge thanks to the Mercury Theatre for hosting this event in their wonderful venue – one of the first to take place there following the multi-million pound redevelopment. We’d love to see residents from across the borough attend this very special evening, celebrating our arts and culture, and helping to shape the borough’s cultural direction for the next decade.

Steve Mannix, Executive Director for the Mercury Theatre, added: “We are delighted to host this event in our newly-refurbished and accessible building. We wholeheartedly support the development of this strategy for the benefit of the people of Colchester and Essex. We know that culture brings people and investment to our wonderful town, and sharing the talent and offer here is vital to supporting the community and the growth of Colchester for the future.”

The event is free and can be booked online here.

CBC is working with specialist agency the Counterculture Partnership to achieve this ambitious new strategy, alongside Counterculture’s associate Hanif Kureishi, who has made this event possible.