糖心Vlog

A new play, the first to explore the COVID-19 experiences of first-generation migrants living in the UK, will get its debut at the Lakeside Theatre this month.

Lightstreams which is written by Dr Mary Mazzilli, from the Department of Literature, Film, and Theatre Studies, will be tested in front of its first audience in a 鈥榮cratch鈥� performance on 17 November, starting at 7pm.

The play, which is supported by Arts Council England and staged in collaboration with the and the , is the result of the ESRC Impact Acceleration Account-funded project Global Theatre Pioneers.

It tells the story of two foreign women living in the UK: a mother who tries to stop her husband going back to his work as a carer and an elderly woman, a former international spy abandoned in a care home for the elderly.

Dr Mazzilli, who previously challenged negative attitudes towards migrants in her play Priority Seating, was inspired by her own experiences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic.

鈥淪eeing news reports about elderly people being abandoned in Spanish care homes, my own experiences as a first-generation migrant living in the UK and meeting migrant theatremakers through my most recent project made me want to explore in greater depth how the pandemic and experiences of lockdown were felt by these communities.

鈥淭he two central characters, Mother and Elderly Woman, retell their COVID-19 experiences whilst also recalling their pasts which are dominated by other global crises such as the Cold War,鈥� Dr Mazzilli added.

Lightstreams has been directed by Robert Price from LAMDA and cast members include two graduates.

The 鈥榮cratch鈥� performance, which is free to attend () will provide audience feedback vital to the development of the show. It will also be live-streamed on the .

Lightstreams has been informed by Dr Mazzilli鈥檚 Global Theatre Pioneers project, which explored how first-generation migrant theatremakers living in the south east have been affected by Brexit and Covid. Conceived in response, the experimental play, using intermitted monologues and dialogues, is part of Dr Mazzilli鈥檚 interest in language dis-embodiment as experienced by migrants in their continuous process of negotiations between languages and cultures.