AN EVENING WITH AN IMMIGRANT

Born to a Muslim father and a Christian mother in what is now considered by many to be Boko Haram territory, award-winning poet and playwright Inua Ellams left Nigeria for England in 1996 aged 12, moved to Ireland for three years, before returning to London and starting work as a writer and graphic designer.

★★★★★
“He is unapologetically Black, he is raw, he is honest, and he left me feeling proud. Proud of him, proud of my race and proud of how far we have come. He shows that immigrants are resilient and full of strength.”
Afridiziak

Part of this story was documented in his autobiographical Fringe First Award-winning play The 14th Tale, but much of it is untold. Littered with poems, stories and anecdotes, Inua tells his ridiculous, fantastic, poignant immigrant-story of escaping fundamentalist Islam, experiencing prejudice and friendship in Dublin, performing solo at the National Theatre, and drinking wine with the Queen of England, all the while without a country to belong to or place to call home.

“You exit the show incredibly happy that Ellams exists among British society, and more than ready to join in his fight.”
The New York Times

As part of the act of sharing stories and experiences of migration and global human movement across borders, An Evening with an Immigrant will coincide with Refugee Week 2021.

We Are Here: A Post Show Talk
This special post-show talk will be hosted by Fuel’s Director Kate McGrath, alongside Minnie Rahman, Campaigns and Communications Director for the Joint Council of the Welfare of Immigrants. Building off the themes of An Evening With An Immigrant, the talk will explore the UK’s current immigration policy and JCWI’s campaigns. The talk will take place after the show on Wed 17th June, so if you have booked for then you will receive automatic access. If not you can book a free ticket for the talk here.

An Evening with an Immigrant was filmed at The Bridge Theatre in November 2020, and is presented on Fuel Digital. English captions available.

Find out more about Omnibus Theatre Online→

An Evening with an Immigrant by Inua Ellams was first presented in 2016, and has been regularly touring since both nationally and internationally, from Edinburgh to Kochin, India. The show ran at The Bridge Theatre in September-November 2020, with most performances sold out.

An Evening with an Immigrant is an autobiographical monologue show consisting of poems tied together by anecdotes and stories that Inua speaks directly to the audience. The show is set against a soundtrack curated by DJ Sid Mercutio.

The production has received much critical acclaim and audience praise for making visible the personal experiences of those struggling with hostile government immigration policies, Inua’s captivating presence on stage, and the rich poetic language. In 2017, the human rights advocacy group Liberty awarded the show their Human Rights Award.

Inua Ellams is an award-wining poet, performer, playwright, graphic artist and designer. He started performing in cafes in 2003 and has since worked in venues including the Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Nuyorican Poets Cafe and Glastonbury Music Festival. He is the recipient of an Edinburgh Fringe First Award for his autobiographical winning play The 14th Tale. He has also undertaken several commissions, including those for Louis Vuitton and Soho Theatre. Following two sell-out runs at the National Theatre and a world tour, his play Barber Shop Chronicles (A Fuel, National Theatre and Leeds Playhouse co-production) also ran at the Roundhouse in 2019. His adaptation of Three Sisters was co-produced by the National Theatre and Fuel in 2019-2020 and was recently nominated for Best Production in the Black British Theatre Awards. In October 2020, he published his first full poetry collection The Actual.

inuaellams.com

Fuel produce fresh work for adventurous people by inspiring artists. We believe in supporting and stimulating artists to develop their own ideas through provocation and challenge. We have a rich and trusting creative dialogue with all of the artists we work with, and we engage with all aspects of the development of the work. Each relationship is unique, as we try to respond to the needs of each artist individually.

Some of the artists Fuel has worked with include Will Adamsdale, Inua Ellams, Encounter, Fevered Sleep, Lewis Gibson, Gyre & Gimble, Nick Makoha, Racheal Ofori, Frauke Requardt, David Rosenberg, Andy Smith, Sound&Fury, Melly Still, Tom Stuart, Uninvited Guests and Melanie Wilson.

Since our story began in 2004, we have:

· produced over 143 shows, 7 festivals, 4 films, 36 podcasts, an app and three books.
· supported the development of 107 artists and companies.
· reached over 700,000 live audience members, 660,000 online audiences and 8,750 participants.
· won 18 awards

“One of the most exciting and indispensable producing outfits working in British theatre today.”
The Guardian

http://www.fueltheatre.com

If you have any questions about An Evening With An Immigrant, see if it has been answered on Fuel Theatre’s FAQs page.

The show is being presented in partnership with multiple venues from across the UK including the Albany, ArtsDepot, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Coombe Farm Studios, Curve Theatre, Derby Theatre, Leeds Playhouse, Lyceum Theatre, Lyric Theatre, Norwich Arts Centre, Omnibus Theatre, Pound Arts, Rose Theatre and Stratford Circus.

Free tickets will be available to schools and community groups, via Fuel’s Community Ticket Scheme, delivered in partnership with each partner venue. For more information, please contact Fuel’s Engagement Producer, Georgia Dale on georgia@fueltheatre.com or engagement@fueltheatre.com.

English captions will be available. For accessibility info please contact Box Office on 0207 498 4699.

We operate a paperless box office system. You will be emailed a receipt once you have booked in advance. There is no need to print this off, just state your name at the box office on arrival.

Mention of Female Sexual Violence, Threats of Violence.

Find out more here.

Hosted by writer Maddy Costa, Theatre Club is an open, friendly space for audiences to meet post-show and share what they thought. It’s not like a Q&A – no one who made the show will be there – so we can ask each other questions and say what we really felt, whether we were fascinated, bored, annoyed, confused or anything in between.

Thursday 17th June 2021 at 9.10PM – Book here (Free)

Please note: booking a place at Theatre Club does not give you access to the show! You need to book a separate ticket to see An Evening with an Immigrant here and to be able to join the Theatre Club conversation you should watch any performance from Tuesday 15 to Thursday 17 June.