A Walsall solicitor, poet and playwright who heads up Poets Against Racism with  performances around the region  has not only received the support of Andy Street (pictured),  Mayor of the West Midlands,  but funding from Arts Council England for his latest play for China West Midlands 2020.   "Andy Street has been a big supporter of what we`re doing" explained Ian Henery who writes and performs his own material outside of his day job as a solicitor. 

"The issue was getting funding to bring my manuscript to life in front of an audience.  We had been offered the Birmingham Hippodrome and Newhampton Arts in Wolverhampton but we needed a grant."   Ian Henery was invited to write a trilogy for China West Midlands 2020 starting with a story based on the sacrifices of the Chinese Labour Corps during the First World War and continuing with a second story around the 1940s/50s and the third story set in contemporary Britain.   

China West Midlands 2020 promotes deeper understanding, greater collaboration and mutual prosperity between the West Midlands and China.  "For many people in the West Midlands" said Andy Street "home is in two places - where one was born and grew up and where they are living and working now.  I am committed to making every community feel at home in the West Midlands and projects like this really help bridge the gap between different continents and cultures".   

The cultural partners supporting the project include the Birmingham Chinese Society, a registered charity who were awarded the Queen`s Award for Voluntary Service and a host of other awards ever since  and Chinese Active Citizens UK.    "The trilogy will explore ideas of family, sacrifice, place and time" said Ian "from Chinese and British perspectives in the socio-economic context of three  significant periods of recent history.  Half of my family are Chinese.  One of my daughters was born in China.  I am often told that I think and act like a Chinese person and I take that as a compliment.  I can see life from British and Chinese points of view.  I am lucky to have Chinese people in my family".  

The first play in the trilogy was premiered at the Chinese Community Centre in Birmingham  by Searchlight Theatre and Stagecoach Performing Arts in front of a specially invited audience of over 100 people including members of the Steering Committee of China West Midlands 2020.  "There was a spontaneous standing ovation at the end" said Ian "but we didn`t have a grant to take it further and so I formed a consortium with delivery partners while we searched for a lead partner who was a charity to get funding."  

In the intervening period Stagecoach collaborated with the West Midlands Fire Service for a performance in aid of St Basils at the URC in Sutton Coldfield and there was also 7 sold out performances at the MAC in Birmingham in aid of Cancer Research UK.  "One of my best memories during this period" explained Ian "was the students from Stagecoach Performing Arts putting on a special performance for our corporate sponsors, Andy Street and Birmingham TV at the Bakehouse Studios in Sutton Coldfield.  Andy Street has always been a big supporter of this project".  

However, Ian and his team had to endure the nail-biting period of filling in forms for Arts Council England and waiting for the result.  On Friday 6th March, as Ian was preparing to go on stage with Poets Against Racism at the Heritage Centre in Wolverhampton, he received an email from his theatre company. 

"We had received our grant", he explained "after months of waiting and disappointments.  I was buzzing as I took to the stage at the event, organised by Black Country Stand Up To Racism and I couldn`t keep the smile off my face.  It was most definitely Game On and at last the first play in the trilogy will give voices back to the Chinese Labour Corps who have been whitewashed from history".  

It is estimated that between 1917 - 1920 over 140,000 Chinese young men volunteered to serve Britain and it`s allies in the First World War.  They were known as the Chinese Labour Corps and over 20,000 of these civilian volunteers died  - some even after the War had ended.  They died of disease, starvation and unexploded shells as they removed dead bodies, spent ammunition and unexploded bombs. 

The civilian volunteers had their distinctive pigtails, a mark of their culture, cut off by non-Chinese soldiers and given an identity number.  These civilians  were then put under non-Chinese military control and their officers spoke no Chinese or understood Chinese culture.  There are over 60,000 war memorials to the First World War in the UK - including memorials to animals and Germans - but none to the Chinese Labour Corps.