True story and new theatre experience

True story and new theatre experience

20 January 2016

AUDIENCES are to get interactive in a new theatre experience for Down Arts Centre.

Terra Nova Productions, Northern Ireland’s only professional intercultural theatre company, is bringing ‘Mi Mundo (Arrivals3)’ to Downpatrick on Tuesday after opening at the Crescent Arts this week.

Mi Mundo tells the true story of a Northern Irish family who take on the might of the British government to fight deportation and keep their family together.   

Only 25 people at a time will get the opportunity to try this brand new theatre experience which will feature immersive theatrical techniques which will place the audience within the play as well as offering them the opportunity to give their opinion on the story.

Mi Mundo, meaning ‘my world’, is the third production in Terra Nova’s ongoing Arrivals project. It is based on the true story of a married couple with two children: a Northern Irish woman (Lisa) and a Peruvian man (Joaquin).  The couple’s story, and their emotional story of fighting deportation, was revealed to Terra Nova when they participated in the Arrivals2 workshops last year. 

Written by Delhi-born Canadian Andrea Montgomery and directed by Belfast man Tom Finlay, the play explores how the couple meet, fall in love, and marry in Lima, where they have their first child; then follows their return to Northern Ireland for the birth of their second child, where they confront the UK’s new immigration laws.   

The production presents the facts that Terra Nova were able to uncover in a human and emotionally realistic context. The couple are faced with new legislation implemented by the British Government in 2012, which requires British men and women who marry partners from outside the EU to meet strict legal and financial conditions in order to sponsor their husband or wife to settle in Britain with them.  

Research by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford reveals that the UK Government’s financial requirement to bring a spouse and two children home to the UK is beyond the reach of 70 per cent of the population of Northern Ireland, and Home Office statistics suggest that as many as 17,800 UK families per annum are affected by these new financial hurdles.

Andrea Montgomery, Artistic Director from Terra Nova Productions and writer of Mi Mundo, said: “The story and production of Mi Mundo very much reflects the situation facing thousands of UK citizens on a daily basis. Seeing the research and hearing Lisa and Joaquin’s story made me determined to pay tribute to the courage and loyalty of their marriage and thousands like them, which not only undergo a huge strain but which also has an impact on the lives of their children and families. 

“Mi Mundo’s unique use of an immersive theatre technique will allow audiences to get very involved in the production by putting them at the centre of the action. This will not only help them connect with the characters, but enable them to offer their opinion on the story. By focusing on an immersive world of sounds and objects, we are able to create a meaningful experience that we can take to rooms across Northern Ireland that lack big theatre infrastructure.  We can go almost anywhere.  We hope to see Mi Mundo continue to tour after this first outing.”

Mi Mundo (Arrivals3) will be performed at Down Arts Centre on 6pm and 8pm on January 26. Tickets are £5 and £8. For more information contact info@terranovaproductions.net or www.terranovaproductions.net