Here by Lindsay Rodden, which was due to première at Northern Stage from 19 to 28 March 2020 but had to be postponed because of the pandemic, will finally be performed from 4 to 12 March this year in Stage 2.
Produced by Newcastle-based Curious Monkey, with Northern Stage and Newcastle University, Here is about finding sanctuary in the unlikeliest of places and is part of Curious Monkey’s long term work with refugees, migrants and asylum seekers.
The play is part of Curious Monkey’s Arriving project. Collaborating for 18 months with refugees, asylum seekers and migrants from all over the world (including Sudan, Syria, Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Zimbabwe, Kosovo, Bangladesh, Congo and Nigeria), Lindsay Rodden worked closely with more than 80 people who are now settling in the North East and Derby to create authentic characters.
“As a writer,” Rodden said, “I was determined not to take a story from anyone. Because stories are so powerful that the Home Office will demand yours from you, question it, doubt it, perhaps use it against you. But stories have been given, and invented, and shared, and that’s how we made Here. The play is only one part of a huge project, and a growing community writing its own story, reclaiming and harnessing that power in the hope of happy endings. That’s all any of us want, isn’t it?”
“Here is a beautiful story full of hope (and challenges!),” said director Amy Golding. “It’s about unlikely friendships, it’s both very funny and heart-wrenching in parts. Set against the backdrop of austerity in a struggling library, it is also about the power of books and storytelling.
“The show was due to open in the week of the very first lockdown in March 2020, it was about to open and tour the UK when the theatres were all shut down. Two years on and the play is more urgent than ever. The increased hostile environment fuelled by Priti Patel’s nationality and borders bill makes it all the more important that we humanise people who are seeking sanctuary. This play helps us (those involved in making it and audiences alike) to understand the commonalities between us as humans despite where we’re from and what circumstances we have found ourselves in.”
Golding founded Curious Monkey in 2013 and her directing credits include Leaving by Paddy Campbell, Beats North by Luke Barnes and Ishy Din and Mamela by Gez Casey and Ziphozahke Hlobo.
A writer and dramaturg, Rodden was selected for the Royal Court and Northern Stage’s NORTH writers’ group and is a former writer-in-residence at Live Theatre in Newcastle. Her writing credits include The Story Giant (Liverpool Everyman, adapted from the book by Brian Patten) and Cartographers (Theatre by the Lake), and she is currently writing a musical for the National Theatre.
All performances are relaxed, BSL interpretation and captioning on selected dates are available, and synopses are available in seven languages. Full details can be found on the Northern Stage web site.