Claim OwnershipThings I Am Not
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© 2023 LegalAliens Theatre
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Ten audio-stories, written and performed by female artists who have migrated to the UK from ten different countries. What are the “things” people associate with migrant womxn? We certainly know what we are NOT. Recognising the stereotypes often projected on migrant womxn, LegalAliens Theatre asked 10 artists to respond to the theme THINGS I AM NOT, picking a style that truly represents them.
16 Episodes
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LegalAliens’ Lara Parmiani, Becka McFadden and Emmanuela Lia, creator of Things I Am Not, sit for a chat with Roxana Silbert, Artistic Director of Hampstead Theatre.Roxana is one of very few women born outside the UK who currently hold leadership roles at producing theatres with their own buildings. We discuss how her childhood journey from Argentina to England led her to a career in theatre, why international accents are still taboo on British stages, Brexit, and the challenges of prod...
Theatre doesn’t exist in a vacuum and the attitudes, cliches, and prejudices we see on stage and in creative practices simply mirror our society. In this episode, we invite back two Things I Am Not artists - Yasmeen Ghrawi and Lanna Joffrey - for a conversation with Zrinka Bralo, CEO of Migrants Organise. Topics include attitudes towards refugee women, the difference between solidarity and charity, and the need to create space in society and the arts for mutual listening#bonusepisode #refugee...
LegalAliens’ Lara Parmiani and Becka McFadden sit down for a chat with Tamara Rojo, artistic director of the English National Ballet. We ask how migration and artistry intersect in a field dominated by the expressivity and technical ability of the dancing body. What acts of translation might still be necessary? And what’s it like to lead a national company in a country you arrived to as a foreigner? This discussion is part of an interview series with migrant women in leadership positions in t...
We Zoom in for a chat with Nastazja Domaradzka, director, theatremaker and force of nature. We ask Nastazja how her migrant experience and the theatre she grew up watching in Poland have shaped her practice today and delve into British theatre’s seeming pursuit of apoliticality. Unpicking this political allergy, we ask Nastazja to help us imagine a better and more engaged future for the work we all love. And - of course - we ask Nastazja to share some things she’s not. Follow Nastazja on...
10 weeks, 10 voices, 10 stories. Now that all 10 episodes of Things I Am Not have been released, the creative team behind the podcast gets together to talk about what’s surprised us, what’s stayed with us and where we might be going next. This episode is the first in our series of bonus discussion episodes inspired by themes emerging from Episodes 1-10 of Things I Am Not. Guests: Catharina Conte, Daiva Dominyka, Emmanuela Lia, Becka McFadden & Lara ParmianiProducing Artistic Director...
“When a Black African migrant woman is in a relationship with a white man, the organ on her body that society gives its highest attention to is her vagina. On the one hand, everytime me and my 'white lover' make love, I am not me and he is not him. I am Africa allowing itself to be taken by settler Europe.”Rich, complex and fearless, “Way To Becoming” by Sabrina Richmond deals with the black woman’s body as a site of pleasure and contestation. Charting the journey - physical, professional and...
“I’m not into politics / naively I used to say / not realising that everything is political or - a better way to put it - politicised.”Intense and personal, “I’m Not Into Politics” by Mai Weisz navigates an uneasy terrain of geopolitics and interpersonal relations. Shot through with love and fear, the monologue contends with divisions and the quest to overcome them in a world increasingly invested in labels and categorisation. As individuals, can we swap seemingly intractable opposition for a...
“I miss my mom. I can’t sleep. I can feel my tears running down my cheeks.The English sentence I speak most frequently is ‘I’m sorry’. But you know what? I’m not sorry.It’s not my fault.”As migrant women, how often do we feel forced to pretend that we are fine when we are actually hurting inside?Inyoung Lee’s moving and ironic piece is both a quiet explosion of anger and a love letter to a country that, like a duplicitous lover, has first enticed and then rejected its protagonist. H...
“This is the ultimate act of compassion and our bravest encounter. To be and bear witness to our being.” Yasmeen’s monologue isn’t for the faint-hearted. Her raw, honest, and fierce prose evokes a painful and shocking journey - real and metaphorical - into the darkness and beyond. A young woman’s encounter with the violence of war, and a refugee’s encounter with daily stupidity, xenophobia and bigotry, in search of a place to breathe. ***TRIGGER WARNING: Contains noise of explosions...
“Somebody once told me people who migrate are like tortoises, struggling under the weight of that home they take with them everywhere they move to. I’m not sure it’s right. I think we leave bits of home along the way, we shed them like skin, scatter them and in the end, we just have a skeleton left. Bones. Random bits, mixed with new bits we have picked en route without noticing. And one of those bits we shed is words.”Language shapes us from the moment we’re born, offering us concepts and to...
“Apologising is an excellent survival strategy on this side of the ocean. You can do anything you want, say sorry, and you’ll be okay. Starting wars in distant nations, stealing Islands on the Argentinian coast, financing slave plantations in the Caribbean, just say sorry and guess what? Consequences? You don’t have to live with them.”A series of disastrous “romantic” encounters offer insights into the way migrant women’s bodies are exoticised, sexualised and even targeted as easy prey by ran...
“My relationship must be articulated through official language. My relationship must exist in an officially recognised structure. My feelings on these matters, like the private nature of my photos, my phone records, are irrelevant.” What happens when the third person in your relationship is UK Borders and Immigration? In “Both/And,” Becka McFadden addresses the disconnect between the complex nuances of identity and relationships and bureaucracy's blunt instruments. Ironic, moving and witty, t...
“I am a dichotomy / In botany that means a branch splitting into two equal parts / I hold memories of being whole.” In this spoken-word piece, Egyptian-born Miray Sidhom contemplates a life between two countries, two languages and two cultures. Does migrating as a child mean she’s destined to always be “other”? Poetic and thought-provoking, “The Other” asks where home is, and maybe even starts to build one. Find out more about Miray here Has this story made you think, smile, cry or even smirk...
“How strange/horrific to flee to the country that caused you to flee in the first place.” A casual dinner party question catalyses Lanna Joffrey’s exploration of how her personal history intersects with Iran’s. How is she here? The reply may not be the answer you’re expecting. Bold, witty, heartbreaking and raw, “How” is an unmissable piece about longing and loss. Find out more about Lanna here Written and performed by: Lanna JoffreyProducing Artistic Director: Lara ParmianiConcept: Emma...
Things I am Not is the monologue that inspired our series and gave it its name. Written by Emmanuela Lia during the first pandemic lockdown in the spring of 2020, it is an ironic, gentle, heartfelt invitation to listen to the narrator as a woman with a unique and complex story, not just someone with a foreign accent. Find out more about Emmanuela here.Has this story made you think, smile, cry or even smirk? Please send us your responses. Over the coming weeks and months, our intera...
What is the new LegalAliens project Things I Am Not? Go behind the scenes with its creators.
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