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PODCAST

I Am An Immigrant

ice&fire Theatre

Most of us have a picture in our minds when we hear the word "immigrant". For some it sounds like a dirty word. For others, it means someone who needs help. Or an inspiring hero making a "contribution". Whatever picture you conjure, this weekly interview podcast with your host Christine Bacon is here to transform that into something way more interesting. Guests are a mixture of celebrities, public figures and regular Janes and they all share the unique experience of moving across borders and making

society & culture

All Episodes

25:08

4.8 Usman Khalid: I'm not smashing it, I'm below average

I Am An Immigrant ·

2025/10/31

Usman Khalid is from Lahore in Pakistan. He arrived in the UK in 2007 and has been living in the London suburb of Walthamstow since 2012 and opened Haven Coffee in 2021. I chatted with him over coffee at the café, so you will hear some background noise of passing traffic and pedestrians.I Am An Immigrant is an ice&fire theatre production hosted by Christine Bacon, edited by Helen Clapp. Cover art by Ada Jusic.We love hearing from you – email actors@iceandfire.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See

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35:22

4.7 Natalie Katsou: My Greek-ness emerged when I...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2025/10/24

Natalie Katsou is a is a lecturer in Theatre and Performance and in Law at Goldsmiths University and is also a theatre director and a writer. She moved to the UK in 2010 from Greece with a scholarship to study theatre. On the hottest day of the UK summer this year, we met to discuss avoiding other Greeks in London but finding them anyway, the dream years of studying when she first arrived and thinking in multiples.Photo credit: Yiannis KatsarisI Am An Immigrant is an ice&fire theatre production

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37:03

4.6 Inês Belmonte: After being here for a while, I...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2025/10/17

Inês Belmonte is a performer and theatre-maker. She moved to the UK from Portugal at the age of 11. She’s now 22. We discussed the loneliness of being a child who goes to school every day not speaking the language, discovering self-expression in drama classes, the importance of friendship and what it means to have a secure immigration status. Her show Where Judas Lost His Boots… And Other Words will be performed at The Space Theatre on November 9th and November 16th as part of Voila! Festival.I Am

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58:49

4.5 Lockie Chapman: A one way ticket and a £2 coin

I Am An Immigrant ·

2025/10/10

Lockie Chapman is the first fellow Aussie I’ve invited onto the podcast. He left Australia on his 25th birthday with no plan and a one way ticket to the UK. After a few years of finding his way in London, he landed on his feet with a 5 album deal with Warner Brothers as the bassist in the vocal harmony group The Overtones. Many platinum albums and many sell out UK tours later, Lockie is now a solo artist. We met at his home which he shares with Mac the Hungarian dachshund to talk the capricious

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49:16

4.4 Miguel Umba: My head and shoulders are above...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2025/10/03

Miguel Umba is a performer, theatre-maker and film director. He came to the UK from Colombia with some friends in 2007, initially to learn English and, bit by bit, made his mark as a working artist here. At his home in South London, we discussed his upbringing on the outskirts of Bogota, how he was treatedwhen travelling on a Colombian passport, the years of grafting after arriving here and what the future might hold.I Am An Immigrant is an ice&fire theatre production hosted by Christine Bacon,

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1:02:00

4.3 Cristina Cabral: I learnt how to be a hustler...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2025/09/26

Cristina Cabral is a filmmaker, academic and activist born in Portugal to parents from Cape Verde. She is a descendant of Pan-Africanist revolutionary Amilcar Cabral, the man who led the anti-colonial struggle of Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau. We talked about the discrimination her family experienced as the only black family in her village, the remarkable twists of fate that determined the course of her life and the adventure and hustle of being an immigrant. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

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28:25

4.2 Hitesh Rathore: I was called here by a random...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2025/09/19

Hitesh Rathore is from a village called Sirohi in India. He moved to Glasgowa couple of years ago on a student visa and it was in Glasgow that he discovered, despite living with a stutter since childhood, that he was a natural at stand-up comedy. His latest show, Chips, Cheese and Curry has been seen at the Glasgow International Comedy Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and he lives with a cat called Hamish. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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32:30

4.1 Philip Arditti: I feel like I'm part of this...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2025/09/12

Philip Arditti is a Turkish Jewish actor, writer, theatre-maker and translator who, back in the day, was one of the founding members of the Arcola Theatre in Dalston. He studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and has worked across film, TV and stage in the UK and Turkey over the last two decades. Over coffee and cake we chatted about the struggle of finding his place as a young foreign man in London, the RADA years, his enduring connection to resistance movements in Turkey and his

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38:54

3.6 Ada: The 'japa' syndrome

I Am An Immigrant ·

2024/07/29

Ada is from Nigeria and has lived in the UK for over 20 years. She has worked in a number of fields, has a legal background and is also a trained early years practitioner. We talked about the Nigerian phenomenon of 'japa', Ada's inner tomboy and how the UK's so-called 'hostile environment' policies have impacted her life here.I Am An Immigrant is an ice&fire theatre production hosted by Christine Bacon, edited by Helen Clapp. Cover art by Ada Jusic.This season is supported by the Garden Court

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27:37

3.5 Maggie Gellersjö: There's no danger on the roof

I Am An Immigrant ·

2024/07/19

Maggie, the first Scandinavian on the podcast, is from Sweden and first came to the UK in 2006 on a whim after her studies, like so many back in the EU free movement days. She landed mysteriously in Exeter and has lived there ever since. Maggie and I accompanied by her dog Cass, talked about having no plan, Maggie’s passion for spreadsheets and the best Swedish sayings.I Am An Immigrant is an ice&fire theatre production hosted by Christine Bacon, edited by Helen Clapp. Cover art by Ada

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25:17

3.4 Mr Mahmoud: I won’t stop until I clear my name

I Am An Immigrant ·

2024/07/05

Mr Mahmoud asked me not to use his real name. He is from Pakistan and came to the UK as a student in 2006 when he was in his mid 20s. He completed a Masters in Law and was in the middle of doing a Legal Practice Course in 2015 and just a few months away from being eligible for indefinite leave to remain here, when a letter from the Home Office accusing him of cheating on an English test changed the course of his life. We talked about the toll that this has taken on him and why, after 10 years of

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44:06

3.3 Lara Parizotto: I’m tired of asking for rights,...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2024/06/28

Lara Parizotto is, to her knowledge, the first Brazilian born person to be elected as a local councillor in the UK.She moved to the UK from Brazil temporarily at the age of 11 and returned here in order to pursue further education at the age of 17. She soon discovered that the immigration rules meant that she would have to put her plans on hold for a while. We talked about how Lara handled the baffling interview before being offered a place at Cambridge University, discovering her flatmate would be

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35:25

3.2 Mitya Savelau: I saw the planet as my opportunity

I Am An Immigrant ·

2024/06/21

Mitya Savelau is a campaigner and an actor who was born and bred in Belarus and has also lived in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and the USA. He made the move to the UK around 5 years ago. We talked about finding the perfect job with Change.org, how it feels to be prevented from returning to his native Belarus and how the pandemic gave him the time and space to take the plunge into a new career.Find out more about Mitya here https://www.mityasavelau.com/*I am an Immigrant is an ice&fire

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38:50

3.1 Sergio Maggiolo: I love an audience and an...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2024/06/14

Sergio Maggiolo is a performer, director and theatre-maker from Peru who has lived in the UK for 10 years. Over a bottle of wine on a sunny evening in May, we got into themes such as being a Peruvian soap opera star, the early days of Grinder when he was living in New Jersey and how it feels when a border guard greets you with the word ‘Welcome.’Follow Sergio here https://www.instagram.com/sergiomaggiolo*I am an Immigrant is an ice&fire theatre production hosted by Christine Bacon, edited by

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25:13

2.6 Tawona Sitholé: My Uncle and Ambition Brought Me...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2022/07/25

Tawona Sitholé, like a lot of artists, does many things. Better known as Ganyamatope (his ancestral family name), he is a poet, playwright, storyteller and musician. He was born in Zimbabwe just before independence and moved to the UK aged 21.He has research and teaching roles in the school of education and medical school, at the University of Glasgow. Other educational roles are with Glasgow School of Art, University of the West of Scotland, University of Stirling and Newcastle University, and

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39:16

2.5 Leena Nammari: Unapologetically Palestinian

I Am An Immigrant ·

2022/07/18

Leena Nammari is a Palestinian artist printmaker based in Scotland. Her work has been part of group and solo exhibitions within Scotland and in Europe more widely. Leena’s installation, It Will Live can be seen on the façade of the Studio venue at the Edinburgh International festival between August 12 and 27. . We talked about Leena’s favourite Scottish words, the essential herbs and spices to fill your suitcase with before you leave Palestine, and the feeling that, despite living here for decades,

en

39:05

2.4 Madison Nonoa: You Can Choose To Get Back On The...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2022/07/11

Madison Nonoa is an opera singer. She was born and bred in New Zealand and made the big move to the UK in 2017 to complete a degree in opera at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. She is based in the UK and performs around the world. Madison will sing in a concert of songs by Brahms with Edinburgh pianists Malcolm Martineau & Steven Osborne on August 13th. We talked about how opera must always strive to be relevant, the all-too common immigrant story of visa woes and the

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47:34

2.3 Mavin Khoo: Just Call Me An Artist

I Am An Immigrant ·

2022/07/04

Mavin Khoo is a dancer and coach. He was born in Malaysia and moved between there and India from the age of 10-17. After a short stint in New York, he landed in the UK aged 18. His career has taken him all over the world. He is currently an Associate and Rehearsal Director at the Akram Kahn Dance Company. Their show Jungle Book Reimagined will play at the Edinburgh International Festival August 25-28. We talked about falling in love with dance in Malaysia at age 5, being a young queer man in London

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36:28

2.2 Akeim Toussaint Buck: Be the one who is in the...

I Am An Immigrant ·

2022/06/27

Akeim Toussaint Buck is an interdisciplinary performer and maker, born in Jamaica and raised in England. We talked about the good times, the not so good times, the rocky road to British citizenship and how dance became Akeim’s survival tool.His solo show Windows Of Displacement is a dance theatre solo show. Working with dance, song and spoken word, Akeim explores diverse identities in today’s England. Using his own experience of being a Jamaican born citizen now a citizen in the UK as starting

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29:30

2.1. mandla rae: Expressing rage with fruit

I Am An Immigrant ·

2022/06/20

mandla rae is writer, performer and occasional curator, who was born in Zimbabwe, moved to South Africa aged 2 and came to the UK aged 7. We talked about rage, feeling out of place and talking to strangers in Manchester. Their solo show,as british as a watermelonplays at the Edinburgh International Festival between August 23 and 26. Through the exploration of mandla’s fragmented LGBTQ asylum and childhood migration memories, as british as a watermelon asks powerful questions about belonging, trauma

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32 results

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