An Evening With an Immigrant at Traverse Theatre

Written and performed by
Inua Ellams

Music selection by
DJ Sid Mercutio

Title sequence by
Airship23

A film by
TEA Films

Dates
17 Aug - 23 Aug 2021

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.

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.

An Evening with an Immigrant was filmed at The Bridge Theatre in November 2020.

Book here

Please note: The show will be available to watch from Tue 17 Aug, 7pm. You can book for this event until 23:59 on Mon 23 Aug. After purchase, you will have 48 hours to watch the show.

Accessibility

Captions by Stagetext
Audio description by VocalEyes

The Traverse Theatre is funded by Creative Scotland and The City of Edinburgh Council, with additional support from The Scottish Government Performing Arts Venues Relief Fund.

"★★★★★ - [Ellams] 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

"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

"★★★★ - It's both a great love letter to family and a moving testament of the migrant experience."

The Arts Desk

"★★★★ - There's nothing flashy about it - just a writer and his words. It's a testament to Ellams' extraordinary talent that this autobiographical show is as engrossing as it is."

London Theatre

"★★★★ - This is his story, but he is unpushily polemical on behalf of others trapped in the UK's immigration system."

Guardian