With the Lambeth Fringe about a week away I have caught up with Pid’or to discuss Eyes See Song.
Name of show and Venue details.
Show name: Eyes See Song
Venue: Bread & Roses, Garden room.
What was the inspiration behind your show?
As a women’s integrative well-being coach, through 1:2:1 coaching and the women’s writing circle I run I have become intimately acquainted with the often unseen, hidden or ignored stories women live through. I have come to see the somatic, emotional and mental-health implications of not telling these stories and housing them in the body. The result is often burnout, ill-health or breakdown. I’ve been inspired by the fact that for me and many of these women creativity and expression act as a beacon of hope and healing. The show aims to spotlight some crucial hidden stories so the audience come into an experiential understanding of the struggles of different types of women. These struggles are juxtaposed with demonstrations of collective healing practices like singing, dancing, and poetry. I want the audience to see hope and struggle as two sides of the same coin, that is woman. The piece aims to raise appreciation for the tenacity of women in surviving and thriving in a world that often holds us at a disadvantage. Our relationships with each other – these sister circles and friendships are the bedrock for tangible well-being changes in our lives and this is the thread that runs throughout the piece. Whether it is a story of women in Eastern Congo fleeing M25 soldiers, a twenty-year-old who is navigating the difficulties of a coercive partner, or a couple at breaking point due to fertility struggles, the female friendships hold us and help put us back together again.
Plays that inspire me are Ruined by Lynn Nottage and For coloured girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow was enough by Ntozake Shange.
How long has your production been in progress?
The production is brand new. It is a culmination of existing poetry that I have written and performed over the past year at various shows, and new scenes that are being devised and written.
Where are planning on taking the play next?
I’d love to take the piece to the Edinburgh fringe and eventually I’d love for it to play here in London in the studio space at the Hackney Empire.
What would you like audiences to take away from your show?
I would like the audience to take away a message of hope. I would like them to experience and be reminded of the power of collectivism, community, and self-expression. I want them to leave with a sense of empowerment that they can survive and grow through hardship, and that nobody must do it alone. Lastly, I would like the audience to experience a sense of returning home to themselves, as the performance approach and audience interactions intend on awakening a sense of re-embodiment. Finding our bodies as safe places for us to exist, experience and express is the first part of healing and moving through the challenges of life successfully.
What are you looking forward to most about performing your show?
I am most looking forward to building a live relationship with the audience and shattering that fourth wall so that they truly live through the stories, and feel part of the solutions. I’m looking forward to storytelling in this multidisciplinary approach as a challenge for us performers attempting to deliver our message on all possible levels of understanding and feeling.
Why did you choose your particular Fringe venue?
This was the venue I was offered. I’d chosen theatre spaces. I accepted the venue after going in for a visit because I can see that it would add another element to the storytelling. Interrupting the pub space with stories that seem out of place is perfect because these stories exist all the time, everywhere and we don’t see them. We just see the women that carry them. As the drinks flow the stories will follow suit and that lends itself to revealing of truths.
Which shows at the Fringe are you planning on watching?
I’ve not yet had a chance to look through the program, but I will.
Have you had any major hurdles to overcome to get this production on the stage?
Finding the cast is a challenge. I want a diverse cast of women with the capacity and will to use all their creative storytelling skills. I am still casting the final roles to find the performers I need. Secondly writing the hard stories and still balancing that out with joy is quite challenging. It’d difficult not to get lost in the hardships of these stories and that is exactly why I want to write the show, because that’s how we often feel in life. I want to write the show as a hope finding mission for me, as well as the audience. At times when I listen to women’s stories, reflect on my own and watch the news… I struggle. But we won’t get on or win if we don’t search for the light. I’m searching for the light. Lastly, finances – I am self financing this show. It’s a passion project and that is a little tricky as I have a low budget but vey high standards!
What other productions have you previously been involved with?
I have been a theatre performer, teacher, and practitioner for about 20 years. I have performed in musicals (Forever Dusty), written youth theatre shows, toured in T.I.E, and taken a physical theatre production to Ed fringe (Shut up, listen). Through my work I have taken the role of writer, stage manager, director, songwriter, designer, and performer.
https://lambethfringe.com/events/eyes-see-song
Theatre, Art and Film Reviews 
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