“Where you from?” “No,
I mean originally?” If you’re an immigrant or a child of an immigrant you have
heard this question so much you’ll know the trickiness of it all. The UK is your home even if it wasn’t
when you were born. And there’s
normally an interesting backstory. To talk to an audience to whom all this
resonates is what makes The immigrant Diaries so special to perform at.
The joy of the format
is that it is a mixture of history, social comment and personal stories that
can be powerful to share –it’s a glorious chance to take a walk in immigrants’
slippers, which in some cases will be just like everyone else’s M&S ones
and in others might be threadbare or more exotic.
It’s not just for the
informative nature of what a lot of people’s anecdotes contain (during my bit
people learn about the passage of Iraqi Jews from Iraq to India to the UK) but
also the emotions attached. I am a comedian and used to playing things for
laughs but the chance to expand on a subject and mention something poignant provides
both me and the people listening a whole new dimension.
Being the child of an
immigrant has informed my identity in some ways despite the fact I fully
identify as one of the ‘bloody British’ my dad used to refer to while I was
growing up. I think these stories
should always be told but particularly at the present there is so much
anti-immigration propaganda.
When I was in junior
school someone found a National Front leaflet and brought it to class. It
called Jews ‘Maggots’ and I remember one of my friends saying to me
disapproving that that was yukky.
To be fair she was very young and I was a larva.
What better way to
counter all this rubbish about immigration than by laughing at the absurdity of
it and answering their ridiculousness square on?
It’s also incredibly
cathartic to mention how a teacher at primary school made casually racist
comments, because all these years later, I can finally reply with wit and fact
without her threatening to make me stay behind or even worse, being chucked out!
Immigration is talked
about like some faceless monster, Immigration Diaries shows you its mouth, eyes
and nose and how beautiful they are.
Anyway..come and check out the show which is the brainchild of the excellent Sajeela Kershi. https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/immigrant-diaries-sajeela-kershi-and-guests
I'm also telling my story of immigration, travel and charlatan spirituality here..
http://boxoffice.brightonfringe.org/comedy/8864/juliet-meyers-the-dog-peed-against-my-family-tree
be great to see you.
DAMMIT!
X
