A Teaspoon of Shampoo

For three decades, the charming Dr Muhammed Saeed treated patients in the Bradford neighbourhood of Manningham – that was, until 1990 when he was exposed as a fraud and not, in fact, a qualified medical doctor. Stories from former patients circulated of how his remedies were, at best, idiosyncratic and, at worst, harmful, such as prescribing a teaspoon of shampoo for a variety of ailments. How was Dr Saeed able to maintain his deception for so long? 

This (mostly) true story is the premise for the development of A Teaspoon of Shampoo, a production from Theatre in the Mill with community collaborators from Manningham, supported by practice-led research from the University of Leeds. The show will blend fact and fiction, integrating archival material with firsthand accounts (and some of the myths) of Dr Saeed to create a multi-layered portrait of the man. Workshops with community and professional actors will result in a scratch performance in summer 2024. 

Through exploring how archival material can be integrated into the performance, the lead researcher from the University of Leeds, Dr Rob Eagle, will workshop potential interactive and digital elements. Rob will focus on how the audience perceives the relationship between physical objects, digital content and live performance. By drawing from the archives and piecing together clues of Dr Saeed’s life, we will bring fresh interpretations of Bradford’s recent past and inscribe new meanings on archival materials. 

Dr Shabina Aslam, Creative Director of Theatre in the Mill, will be leading the production with a cast of professional and community actors and collaborators from Manningham, incorporating stories from those who knew Dr Saeed. We intend for our workshops to lead to a full production in 2025 to coincide with Bradford’s year as the UK City of Culture.