Punjab to the Potteries is a project inspired by the journeys of people in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme whose families began their story in the Punjab region before settling in The Potteries *.

The idea behind Punjab to the Potteries came to life when Appetite’s then Director, Gemma Thomas met Val Bansal in 2017 during Settling by Sam Ivin, an archive photography exhibition delivered in partnership with GRAIN Projects, which documented through personal photography the stories of those who have migrated from around the world, including South Asia, to establish lives in the Stoke-on-Trent area. 

Val shared that while he had been in the process of sorting through old family photographs to digitise, he realised he had a lot of questions about what it must have been like for his father, Baldev, to move from a small village in the Punjab to work in Stoke as a teenager in the 60s.

  • What was the journey like?
  • How did it feel to leave family behind?
  • How difficult was it to adapt to an entirely new culture?

Bansal family photographs courtesy of Val Bansal.

Nine old photographs are displayed against a cream coloured background with a faint paisley pattern to it. The images are discernably aged back to the 1970s and older. Some are black-and-white, some have orange sepia tones and others are in colour. They show family members in various social situations and a couple of individual headshots of a young South Asian man and woman.

That meeting sparked a relationship that went on to build on Appetite and the New Vic’s work with the communities in the area. During a period of relationship building and co-creation, members of the Punjabi community in Stoke and Newcastle have taken pride in and ownership of Punjab to the Potteries.

In 2023 two new short plays were commissioned, being inspired by the conversation and memories that had been shared by the community. The plays were read in the auditorium at the New Vic during a joyous celebration event; a photographic exhibition was staged of some of the people whose input inspired those plays; and a series of creative workshops and talks took place at Keele University in collaboration with ArtsKeele. Read on to find out more about those events.

Since Punjab to the Potteries, Appetite and New Vic’s commitment to  programming for the wider local South Asian communities has continued. Sensasian debuted in 2024. Learn more on the Sensasian project page.

*The Potteries is the name given to Stoke-on-Trent and surrounding areas in Newcastle-under-Lyme that have been shaped by the pottery industry, and is regarded as the world centre for ceramics to this day.

Community Conversation & Research

April 2023

We asked for members of the Punjabi community in Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme to join us in a community conversation.

Two playwrights with close connection to the South Asian community – Shahid Iqbal Khan and Sarah Bedi – were commissioned to write new short plays celebrating and capturing people’s lived experiences of migrating to this area from the Punjab region, or being born here and raised in a Punjabi family.

Shahid and Sarah spoke to people in groups, did one-to-one interviews and visited places of worship to hear stories, form relationships, and inspire their writing. Our thanks go to Guru Nanak Gurdwara & Sikh Cultural Centre, Ramagarhia Sikh Temple, and Porthill Cricket Club for such a warm welcome. . And to New Vic Borderlines for helping us spark old memories and new conversations.

Images by Val Bansal.

Exhibition

August 2023

Portraits by Sam Ivin. Event images by Jenny Harper

Photographic artist Sam Ivin created 23 portraits of people who had shared their story as part of Punjab to the Potteries Community Conversation.

During the process of taking the portraits, Sam took a keen interest in the sitter’s individual stories and used his conversations with them as the basis for the decorations that he hand painted onto each print. Tailored to each individual, they include colourful patterns and symbols inspired by Sikh images and Punjabi fashion.

Initially, the exhibition took pride of place on the walls of the public spaces in New Vic Theatre leading up to the play-reading event. The exhibition was given a second run afterwards in Chapters Cafe on Keele University campus courtesy of ArtsKeele.

Play-reading & Celebration Event

August 2023

Building on the Community Conversations from April, Sarah and Shahid presented their short plays in a play-reading event at New Vic Theatre, directed by Filiz Ozcan and performed by a professional cast.

The event was warm, welcoming and wonderful – a true celebration of the community who gave so much to the project and whose generosity allowed the plays to be written.

During the event, attendees were asked to contribute their thoughts and feedback, as well as giving their ideas on what other events or projects they would be interested in co-creating with Appetite and New Vic Theatre. That feedback was used to inform the work that followed resulting in Sensasian.

Images by Jenny Harper

Two women are in conversation. The lady on the right is wearing a yellow and orange sari dress with a red bindi. She is facing her friend, holding her by the arms and smiling broadly. The lady on the left can be seen mostly from behind and is wearing a multicoloured abstract shirt and has glasses perched on the top of her head. Two men stand around them but we can’t see their faces.
A theatre auditorium in the round is shown from an elevated perspective from the top pf a set of stairs. The seating audience are in the dark but you can see people on the front row quite clearly as they encircle the central stage. In the centre of the stage is a wooden table with red legs and three red wooden chairs arranged around it. We can see an actress from behind speaking to the audience. In her left hand she holds a script and her right is raised and pointing. To her left we can see a man dressed in black providing sign language.
A lady in an orange and yellow sari-style dress is standing behind the food counter at the New Vic Café. She is serving somebody whose back is to us with food from a large silver tray.
A man is standing in front of a seated audience. He can be seen from hip level upwards, but you can tell that he has one foot propped up on something and his knee is raised. He is gesturing out towards the side with his right hand. He’s holding a script looking at and speaking to somebody off screen to the left.
A man in a dark blue shirt with a red Ralp Lauren logo and a mustard yellow turban is standing in front of a group of seated people. He has a big smile on his face. To the left we can see one of the seated group in profile laughing. Other crowd members can be seen in the background of the New Vic Theatre café area.
A man, woman and young woman are sitting on stage around a table with red legs. The background is completely black. On the left-hand side, the woman sit on a red chair. She is casually dressed in jeans, shirt and trainers. She is making a shushing gesture towards to young woman opposite with a finger to her lips. In the middle, the man, dressed all in black, is looking down at some papers on the table. On the right, the young woman is gesturing to the woman opposite with her left hand in the air. She has a black-and-white jumpsuit and glasses. On the table are plates, a bowl and mixing spoon, and papers.
Two women are standing and talking. On the left, one woman wears a bright pink blazer with a cream ruffled top, and a blush shoulder bag. The lady on the right is in a bright green sari and is holding the palm of her right hand up as she speaks. Both ladies are laughing. In the background you can see blurred images of photographic portraits hanging in front of the wall.
Two young men casually dressed in jeans and trainers are sitting on stage on a table with red legs. The backdrop is solid black. The man on the right wears a black turban, while the other wears none. One is speaking, consulting a script that he holds while the other looks at him.
A closeup of a group or people, three seated and two standing. We see the back of two men sitting down who are both wearing suits, one with a red turban. They are facing a young man also in suit and tie who is smiling. Behind him, two men are standing, but we can’t see them above shoulder height. One man has his hand resting on the shoulder of the young seated man, while the other holds out his hand for a shake.
We are looking over the shoulder of a woman in an audience. She has long black hair and glasses that can be seen as she’s facing to her right. In her left hand she is holding a booklet that shows pictures of actors and one of the playwrights along with some text. In her hand she holds an Appetite donation envelope that says: “We hope you enjoyed the show! Donate what you decide. Thank you for your support.”
Two men are on a stage. The background is solid black. One man is seen from behind looking toward the other, who is sitting on a table with red legs. The seated man is holding a script and throwing his head back in laughter.
Gathering feedback

When You Ask                        by Sarah Bedi

1969. A woman leaves the Punjab to forge a future in Stoke-on-Trent. She quickly finds that her husband, her daughter and herself all face different challenges as they struggle to adjust to their new lives.

To integrate or to assimilate? Punjabi or English? And when, oh when, can they go back ‘home’?

A white person is facing the camera against a black background. They have short brown hair and a slight smile in their eyes. The portrait is head and shoulders only nd as they are wearing a white v-neck t-shirt and black v-neck cardigan with brown buttons, the effect is striking against the dark background.

Sarah said:

“It was a real privilege to have people trust us with their personal stories and spaces. The interview process was so enjoyable that the writing process then got kind of hard – because I so wanted to make something that would live up to the trust people had put in us! And now I’m sitting here looking at a nearly finished draft (nearly) … I can only hope that I’ve done what we set out to do!

“Personally, the entire process has been transformational – in learning more about other people and their families, I found I was also learning more about myself and my family. There was this feeling of expanding and of acceptance, that comes from knowledge and connection. And I’ll be eternally grateful for that.”

The Long Bonne Nuit by Shahid Iqbal Khan

Five men from the Punjab are living together in a cramped bedsit in 1960s Stoke. All goes well until their carefully crafted living arrangements are marred by suspicion and intrigue. As tensions boil over, the men begin to see that things cannot stay the same forever. They are at a turning point in their lives, they can either stand still or take the plunge and move forward.

Shahid said:

“What I loved about the process is finding out that separation is merely an illusion. On paper, there are divisions clearly set out, such as the line between India and Pakistan, the varying beliefs between different religions such as Sikhism, Islam and Hinduism. Separatism is the flavour of the hour. Yet, Punjab is a feeling that goes beyond all this. People spoke of travelling into Pakistan Punjab from India Punjab and I was shocked to realise that it was only a 30-minute journey.

“When men came to the UK in the 1960s and 1970s, they would share a house or a flat as a group, often with men from different religious backgrounds. I heard stories of Muslim and Sikh men living together. They bonded because they were from Punjab and because they spoke the same language – Punjabi. These lifelong friendships continue still today. I was really moved by this aspect of our history and I used it as inspiration for my short play.”

Creative Series at Keele

October 2023

Video courtesy of ArtsKeele.

Over three nights, Chapters Cafe at Keele University was the venue of a series of three creative workshops as part of Punjab to the Potteries.

The first workshop focused on the creative writing process. Playwright Sarah Bedi shared her experience of drawing on real people’s stories to create something new. They spoke of the profound connections she felt during her research and took attendees through practical exercises to inspire them in their creative writing endeavours.

Secondly was a Conversation and Q&A with members of the team who discussed the joys and challenges of bringing the project to life. Members of the audience also gave their ideas for future events. You can see a captioned recording of the event on YouTube.

Finally, photographic exhibition artist Sam Ivin took participants through the process of taking their own pictures and creating mini works of art.

Appetite
New Vic Theatre
Etruria Rd,
Newcastle-under-Lyme,
Staffordshire ST5 0JG

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