Set in a landscape of social distancing, social media, WhatsApp and Zoom calls, iMelania is an audio-visual experience that takes place on your phone and desktop.

Varjack-Lowry use Melania Trump as an avatar of an “acceptably” foreign woman, obscuring and questioning experiences of being foreign in post-Brexit Britain. With the overwhelming nature of the global digital landscape, how do we use social media to engage with current affairs and connect? How do we use it to escape?

A playful, dizzying, online exploration between a duo of dual heritage women investigating borders and belonging.

★★★★
“Smart, original, and incredibly well done.”
The Stage

Varjack-Lowry is a collaboration between artists Paula Varjack and Chuck Blue Lowry; merging skills derived from careers in filmmaking, theatre-making, & participation. Chuck and Paula met whilst working on Magic Me’s Decorum, exploring unspoken rules of behaviour for modern women. Paula invited Chuck to work on All the Lights Are On, a site specific promenade performance sharing experiences of women who had been or were at risk for being incarcerated, with Chuck supporting with moving image and online campaign material for women’s charity Agenda. Following this collaboration, Varjack-Lowry was formed. Subsequently, they were chosen as one of six Barbican Open Lab 2019/20 artists and are also Associate Artists with The Pleasance. Their most recent work was with The Yard Theatre devising a short film online with a group of young people.

This performance will take place online.

This event takes place on the platform Gather Town, available for Mac and PC. The show requires audience members to have a desktop/laptop and a mobile device to take part.

A link and any further access details will be sent to the email address you used to book one day ahead of the event.