Ladypool Speaks Project
A slice of history unfolds the changing shape of Ladypool Road through the eyes of local women over the past 50 years and beyond. Since September 2013, Sonia Sabri Company has conducted over 20 interviews and collected old photographs that open a door to the stories of real women, illuminating their strength, power and achievements.

Ladypool Speaks is primarily about the women who live and work in Ladypool Road both past and present, recording and documenting their experiences and realties. We talked to them about their dreams, hopes and aspirations and have discovered their important role in the development of Ladypool Road, recognised as one of the leading South Asian commercial streets and forms a part of Birmingham’s Balti Traingle. Through this we hope to understand what has changed and why. We also spoke to many women connected with the area to discover the cultural change and ethnic diversity of the road. The lives and involvement of these women are often overlooked and understated. Our aim is to record this valuable slice of history and their contribution, in order to celebrate their power and the gift they have given to society.

Through this project we hope there will be a greater understanding of these women’s experiences and their contribution to the growing success of the area, therefore the interviews will made publically available through The Library of Birmingham Archive and additional content on our Ladypool Speaks website.


We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the interviewees, thank you for taking the time to talk to us and get involved in the project. Without your contribution the whole venture would not have happened! We enjoyed immensely listening to your stories, the positive exposure you have given to local women & the general public is extremely important and has provided the community with further insight into an integral part of society & history.

We would also like to say a huge thank you to all our volunteers who have been a vital cog in the clockwork to keep the project moving towards our goal, helping with conducting interviews, distributing leaflets, transcribing interviews etc. Your contribution was a valuable part of the process.

And also a tremendous thanks to Izzy Mohammed of Birmingham Library for all his support and encouragement through the project, and lastly a big thank you to all the staff at The Heritage Lottery Fund for your support and guidance.
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Sonia Sabri Company, 202 Moseley Street, Birmingham B12 0RT UK
T: 0044(0)121 622 3135 E: infoEmail