NINE LIVES
Leeds Playhouse & Leeds Studio
Tours: 2014 - 2020
Ishmael has fled from his home in Zimbabwe, where a fresh wave of homophobia threatens his life. In Leeds is the prospect of sanctuary, and of a new life among strangers. But will those strangers accept him? The clock is ticking, and his fate is being decided. Can Ishmael find a place to call home again?
Originally commissioned by Oron Mor and Leeds Playhouse for A Play, A Pie and A pint in 2014. It was remounted in 2015 by Leeds Studio for a national and international tour.
It was featured on BBC Arts Online as part of a special season of short films and features shining a spotlight on theatre within refugee, migrant and asylum-seeking communities. Theatre and Refugees was curated by Vicky Featherstone Artistic Director of London's Royal Court Theatre.
Watch the film : BBC Arts Online: Nine Lives: The horrors of the asylum process laid bare
CAST AND CREATIVES
ACTOR | Lladel Bryant
DIRECTOR | Alex Chisholm
STAGE MANAGER | Emaleigh Plighting
COMPOSER | Jonathan Girling
MUSICIAN| Kudaushe Matimba
SOUND DESIGNER | Ed Clarke
DESIGN ASSOCIATE | Emma Williams
REVIEWS
★★★★ '..Nyoni’s interweaving of naturalism and poetry is superb, and lifts this show far beyond documentary, into unforgettable solo drama about one of the key experiences of our time.' Scotsman
★★★ 'This is a snapshot, but it’s a truthful one and suggests that Nyoni, who has already made her mark with Boi Boi Is Dead, is a playwright well worth watching.' The Guardian
★★★ '..Nyoni fights against the toxic language that populates lazy tabloid headlines and political speech.' TimeOut
★★★ A compassionate, engagingly performed monologue about the experience of being a refugee. The Stage
'...This is a play that makes statistics human. Through a shared glimpse of one person’s story it speaks for many.' British Theatre Guide
TOURS
2014 : Oron Mor, Glasgow/ West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds
2015 : HUB (Holbeck Underground Ballroom), Leeds / Lantern Theatre, Liverpool / Theatre Delicatessen, Sheffield/ Hebden Bridge Little Theatre / Taliesin Arts Centre, Swansea/ Wakefield Lit Festival, Wakefield / Oxford Playhouse, Oxford / Ilkley Playhouse, Ilkley / The Bikeshed, Exeter/ Trinity Arts, Bristol / Malvern Cube, Great Malvern / Upstairs at the Western, Leicester / CAST, Doncaster / Waterside Arts Centre, Sale /ARC, Stockton / Nottingham Contemporary, Nottingham / Brighton and Hove Sanctuary on Sea, Brighton
2016: Arcola Theatre, London / Les Feux de la Rampe, Paris Fringe Festival,France / Stratford Circus, London / The Place, Bedford / Oxford Arts at The Old Fire Station / Key Theatre, Peterborough/ The Back Door, Sutton / Marlborough Theatre Brighton / Little Theatre Sheringham / Diss Corn Hall, Norfolk / Norden Farm Center for the Arts, Maidenhead / Hat Factory, Luton / The Observer Building, Hastings / Phoenix Arts Center,Bordon / Stage Door, Southampton/ Bridport Arts Center
2020: Bridge Theatre / Leeds Playhouse
2021 : The Market Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa. Starting Warren Masemola as Ishmael