THE Octagon Theatre has put out a call for local residents whose families emigrated to the UK to share their stories as it prepares to stage its new production An Adventure.

The play tells the epic journey of husband and wife Rasik and Jyoti, who leave 1950s post-partition India in search of a better, more exciting future.

It is based on the life experiences of writer Vinay Patel’s own grandparents, which follows the couple across seven decades, through the independence struggle in East Africa and industrial strife in Britain.

And now the Octagon wants to hear from Bolton people whose families experienced similar journeys – from anywhere in the world – telling their own real life adventures, and stories of how they came to arrive in Bolton.

The Octagon's artistic director, Lotte Wakeham said: “I fell in love with the characters in Vinay’s play the first time I read it and was blown away by their epic journey. I know that many families here in Bolton have undertaken very similar journeys to Rasik and Jyoti, from a huge variety of countries. We decided to put on this production of An Adventure to celebrate and shine a light on these stories. We also want to call out to people living in Bolton to share their own family tales. Through photos and memories we can celebrate the rich history of what it meant for people to make those incredible journeys across the world, what it was like to first arrive in this country and the legacy for communities living in Bolton today.”

Director, Kash Arshad, said: “The migration stories like the ones undertaken by Jyoti and Rasik in the play were taken by so many people now living in Bolton – and across the country – but are ones that we rarely hear.

“Personally, I only really found out about my own grandfather’s migration post partition after he passed.

“I feel like these stories shouldn’t be lost or forgotten, and by sharing photos, stories, and memories we can keep these family histories alive for now and future generations.”

The Octagon is keen to hear stories and see images of first generation life and is particularly interested in hearing from families who made the epic journey to the UK from South Asia via East Africa, as well as anyone whose family migrated to the UK from another country.

If interested in sharing a story use the hashtag #OurAdventure and tag @OctagonTheatre on Twitter and Instagram, or alternatively contact info@octagonbolton.co.uk.

Over the coming weeks the theatre will be collating these stories and sharing them more widely.

An Adventure arrives at the Octagon from Friday 4 – Saturday 26 February.

Tickets start from £15 and are on sale now.

Find out more and book tickets via the Octagon Box Office on 01204 520661 or at octagonbolton.co.uk.