Security

Zena Edward's debut publication is the text from her acclaimed one-woman stage show, 'Security', featuring illustrations from London artist Leo Stiles. The narrative, a fusion of poetry, lyrics and prose reminiscent of Notzake Shange's 1974 choreopoem "For Colored Girls who Have Considered Suicide, when the Rainbow is Enuf", explores the interconnections of inner city London lives, focussing on the bond between Mahmoud, a middle-aged Palestinian photographer and Ayleen, a 16-year-old aspiring MC whom he photographs one weekend on the Southbank. With eyes like Mahmoud's dead brother, Ayleen struts with a bravado well beyond her years, and pulls the older man in from the brink of self-neglect. All the while she deals with the recent loss of her own brother, with no succour from her mother whose life revolves around an ancient heartbreak.