I Am An Immigrant

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 

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 hosted by Christine Bacon, edited by Helen Clapp. Cover art by Ada Jusic.We love hearing from you – email actors@iceandfire.co.uk 

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 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 

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 nature of showbiz, spasmodic brilliance and getting through the hard times. Heads up – you will hear some swearing from time to time. 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 

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 treated when 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, edited by Helen Clapp. Cover art by Ada Jusic.We love hearing from you – email actors@iceandfire.co.uk 

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. 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 

Hitesh Rathore is from a village called Sirohi in India. He moved to Glasgow a 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.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 

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 upcoming show, with his co-creator Nina Bowers, English Kings Killing Foreigners at the Soho Theatre.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 

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 Chambers Special FundWe love hearing from you – email actors@iceandfire.co.uk