About the performance

“Identify yourself! Do you have your documents? Don’t lie to me! Follow me now!”

Come on a journey into the life of an asylum seeker in this arresting piece of immersive theatre. Directed by Cheryl Martin and devised by a team of eight multi-disciplinary artists, Another Country will make you ask yourself where you really belong.

Key Personnel

Cheryl Martin - Director
Greg Akehurst - Production Manager
Chris Whitwood - Lighting Designer
Mauro Camal - Video Designer
Dan Steele - Sound Designer
Katherine Rogers - Creative Producer for CAN

Production Information

Running time at full length: 40 minutes

Age Guidance: 17+

Audience Guidance: We recommend that audience members do not wear high heels at this performance

Light use of text

Use of recorded and live music

Does not require a clear understanding of English or another language

Touring Information

Small scale show, approximately 40 minutes long that can be performed consecutively on one night with up to a total of 400 audience members, depending on agreed total number of performances.

Site specific setting utilising multiple performance spaces of a single building including stairwells, corridors and outdoor spaces. The show can adapt itself to available venues.

Number of people on tour: 6 -10

Number of performers on stage: 15 - 25

Available to tour: May-August 2012

Outreach and Educational Work

This performance is essentially an education and participation project that will provide venues with an exciting creative programme to engage people at a local level in creating their own version of the Another Country performance. It will provide an opportunity for artists, participants and audiences to engage with issues relating to forced migration.
The Artistic Director will work with 5-8 artists from refugee and host communities over 10 workshop/devising sessions using a basic structural template. The devised show is then rehearsed over 3 days with 15-20 volunteers.
Both the participating artists and the volunteers will be recruited from the places where the show will be performed which will necessitate genuine collaboration with local refugee organisations and artists. Therefore this project is only relevant to potential bookers who can take on this initial recruitment work. Community Arts North West will be able to advice in this respect.
The Artistic Director will rehearse with the local performers and supervise the artistic production. The production team will travel with the show to ensure smooth running.

Company History

Community Arts North West (CAN) is an arts development organisation working in partnership with voluntary sector communities, agencies and artists to encourage, develop, produce and promote cultural programmes. Over 32 years of operations, CAN’s participatory arts programmes have helped to create a voice for the complex and diverse communities that make up Greater Manchester. Most recently, CAN has produced Exodus, a six year creative programme developing refugee arts across Greater Manchester, launched in March 2005.

Recent Productions / Tours

2009 - Exodus Live, World Music Showcase, Manchester International Festival: The Beating Wing Orchestra, a unique ensemble comprising musicians from Greater Manchester's refugee & host communities, collaborated with acclaimed Malian musicians Amadou & Mariam.

2009-2010 - How I Became an Asylum Seeker, Zion Arts Centre, Unity Theatre, The Lowry, and Riverside Studios: In partnership with Women Asylum Seekers Together, this play explored the emotional impact of forced migration on women asylum seekers.

2009 - 2010 - Exodus Festival, Urbis and Manchester Town Hall: An outdoor festival celebrating the arts and cultures of Greater Manchester’s refugee communities, including live music, dance, food and crafts from around the globe.

2010 - Exodus Onstage Refugee Theatre Festival, Royal Exchange Theatre, The Lowry, Contact, Waterside Arts Centre, Zion Arts Centre and other venues: A season of theatre, featuring 12 new productions performed at Greater Manchester theatres. CAN productions included One Night There in partnership with Kurdistan Art and Culture,
Hymns for the Drowning in partnership with Rasa Theatre and the Tamil community and the Nu Britannia Youth Showcase