Play Inside

“Why can’t we have one conversation where you don’t tell me that you want me to marry a man? Why do we have to go through the same argument time and time again?”

Sometimes we rehearse conversations repeatedly before we can have them out loud. Sue’s dual Arab-UK heritage is edging her nearer to a difficult conversation and an impossible choice between the two people she loves most in the world.

“A closet door opens to unutterable light, and a person falls out, gasping, visible, trans-formed, at last.”

Jo’s self understanding has been slowly growing out of the shadows into a bright world where gender isn’t so important any more. After a lifetime fitting in, trying and failing to be a good girl, this is a morning where their wild parts take over, leading to radical self acceptance and a revelatory start to the day.

“I like tucking my hair behind my ears… it’s my secret moment of intimacy. She noticed once, that I tucked my hair too attentively. I denied it. But she knew."

The people we love most stay with us forever, even when they’re long gone, and we’re trying and failing to leave the house. Sadeen remembers the stories her grandmother told her about old Palestine, and the breakfasts she enjoyed with her ex. She must remember to eat properly.

“Why can’t we have one conversation where you don’t tell me that you want me to marry a man? Why do we have to go through the same argument time and time again?”

Sometimes we rehearse conversations repeatedly before we can have them out loud. Sue’s dual Arab-UK heritage is edging her nearer to a difficult conversation and an impossible choice between the two people she loves most in the world.

“A closet door opens to unutterable light, and a person falls out, gasping, visible, trans-formed, at last.”

Jo’s self understanding has been slowly growing out of the shadows into a bright world where gender isn’t so important any more. After a lifetime fitting in, trying and failing to be a good girl, this is a morning where their wild parts take over, leading to radical self acceptance and a revelatory start to the day.

“She’s trying, again, to set me up on a date with another eligible bachelor aka one of the sons of her quran circle friends. I’m running out of patience and ways of saying no.”

Nur is desperate to stay in contact with her deaf brother, who lives in a different world, even as she strategises ways to escape the confines of family expectations.

“I like tucking my hair behind my ears… it’s my secret moment of intimacy. She noticed once, that I tucked my hair too attentively. I denied it. But she knew. “

The people we love most stay with us forever, even when they’re long gone, and we’re trying and failing to leave the house. Sadeen remembers the stories her grandmother told her about old Palestine, and the breakfasts she enjoyed with her ex. She must remember to eat properly.

“Mum used to hug me everytime he shouted. Her only words were: it’s OK, but you shouldn’t have talked back at him, you made him even angrier.”

Fatima and her brother both left home a few years ago, but she was the one who came back. Memories of her firm friendship with him in childhood meander through the incidents that led them to their distant present.

Play Inside Series 2: How to be a Real Man or The Availability of Air is a selection of embodied audio stories from writers from Palestine, Egypt and the UK, funded by the British Council International Collaboration Fund and directed by UK artists Michelle Roche and Rosie Poebright (Splash and Ripple) in collaboration with Dawar Arts, Egypt and The Freedom Theatre, Palestine

Written by Anonymous (Palestine)

Sound Design by Hana Seifelnasr

Project Managed by Nery Mounir (Egypt) and Lama (Palestine)

Welcome into our worlds. Into our homes, into our lives. 

Come, join us for a moment. 

Witness what we see, what we feel, what we hear. 

We get power from sharing our stories. Witnessing survivors' perspectives shifts the power back into their hands. These stories transport us from homes in Egypt to England and to Palestine. We know it’s not always easy to listen to, but it’s important to be heard, to be witness to the complexity of lives, and resilience of people, people fighting for air and remembering to breathe.

“To be in a time of war, is to learn how to embroider to candlelight. Embroider the candlelight. And wait.” 

When you can’t go outside, listening becomes a meditation. Remembering and rehearsing for the time you can go outside becomes a way to live again. Curfew describes the distortion of time when it’s controlled by outside forces. 

Play Inside Series 2: How to be a Real Man or The Availability of Air is a selection of embodied audio stories from writers from Palestine, Egypt and the UK, funded by the British Council International Collaboration Fund and directed by UK artists Michelle Roche and Rosie Poebright (Splash and Ripple) in collaboration with Dawar Arts, Egypt and The Freedom Theatre, Palestine.

Written by Anonymous (Palestine)

Sound Design by Hana Seifelnasr

Project Managed by Nery Mounir (Egypt) and Lama (Palestine)

Welcome into our worlds. Into our homes, into our lives. 

Come, join us for a moment. 

Witness what we see, what we feel, what we hear. 

We get power from sharing our stories. Witnessing survivors' perspectives shifts the power back into their hands. These stories transport us from homes in Egypt to England and to Palestine. We know it’s not always easy to listen to, but it’s important to be heard, to be witness to the complexity of lives, and resilience of people, people fighting for air and remembering to breathe.

“I was a cat with nine lives. Every one of her souls honourable… a fighter… who deserved to live.”

What does it take to understand it’s not all your fault? Trace a stream of shisha bubbles through the imagination of a Jouska who has traversed many selves through violence in order to live, and dance, and smoke.

Content warning: stories where you mirror the character as they move around their homes can have a powerful impact. This story contains mention of a past experience of physical assault by family members. We encourage the audience to listen to their instinct on whether they are in the right time or place to listen or not.

Play Inside Series 2: How to be a Real Man or The Availability of Air is a selection of embodied audio stories from writers from Palestine, Egypt and the UK, funded by the British Council International Collaboration Fund and directed by UK artists Michelle Roche and Rosie Poebright (Splash and Ripple) in collaboration with Dawar Arts, Egypt and The Freedom Theatre, Palestine

Written by Angham Mardi

Sound Design by Hana Seifelnasr

Project Managed by Nery Mounir (Egypt) and Lama (Palestine)

Welcome into our worlds. Into our homes, into our lives. 

Come, join us for a moment. 

Witness what we see, what we feel, what we hear. 

We get power from sharing our stories. Witnessing survivors' perspectives shifts the power back into their hands. These stories transport us from homes in Egypt to England and to Palestine. We know it’s not always easy to listen to, but it’s important to be heard, to be witness to the complexity of lives, and resilience of people, people fighting for air and remembering to breathe.

“Every time I look at you, you take me someplace so far away, I forget to breathe.”

Some days are so hard, we get through it by imagining another place, with another person, in another reality. Youssef’s melancholic journey through his past, through relationships and pain, leads him to fantasies of a place where he can love who he wants and is loved for who he is.

Written by M (Egypt) - wants to remain anonymous

Sound Design by Hana Seifelnasr

Project Managed by - Nery Mounir (Egypt) and Lama (Palestine)

Content warning: stories where you mirror the character as they move around their homes can have a powerful impact. This story contains mention of a past experience of childhood sexual assault. We encourage the audience to listen to their instinct on whether they are in the right time or place to listen or not. 

Play Inside Series 2: How to be a Real Man or The Availability of Air is a selection of embodied audio stories from writers from Palestine, Egypt and the UK, funded by the British Council International Collaboration Fund and directed by UK artists Michelle Roche and Rosie Poebright (Splash and Ripple) in collaboration with Dawar Arts, Egypt and The Freedom Theatre, Palestine

Welcome into our worlds. Into our homes, into our lives. 

Come, join us for a moment. 

Witness what we see, what we feel, what we hear. 

We get power from sharing our stories. Witnessing survivors' perspectives shifts the power back into their hands. These stories transport us from homes in Egypt to England and to Palestine. We know it’s not always easy to listen to, but it’s important to be heard, to be witness to the complexity of lives, and resilience of people, people fighting for air and remembering to breathe.

"You are finally meeting your sperm donor for the first time. You have brought friends with you. For safety….Because you know NOTHING about him…"

When is a choice not a choice? Meesh wants a baby, as a ‘solo mother by choice’, and has made plans to make this happen. ‘It’s only sex, right?’ Unravels the complexity of morality and coercion, when the stakes are so high and ‘No’ isn’t being taken for an answer. This fictional story belongs to so many women, please feel free to pause or stop this story if at any time you need to. 

Written by Michelle Roche

Sound design by Hana Seifelnasr

Project Managed by Nery Mounir (Egypt) and Lama (Palestine)

Content warning: stories where you mirror the character as they move around their homes can have a powerful impact. This story contains content around the real time experience of sexual coercion. We encourage the audience to listen to their instinct on whether they are in the right time or place to listen or not. 

Play Inside Series 2: How to be a Real Man or The Availability of Air is a selection of embodied audio stories from writers from Palestine, Egypt and the UK, funded by the British Council International Collaboration Fund and directed by UK artists Michelle Roche and Rosie Poebright (Splash and Ripple) in collaboration with Dawar Arts, Egypt and The Freedom Theatre, Palestine

Welcome into our worlds. Into our homes, into our lives. 

Come, join us for a moment. 

Witness what we see, what we feel, what we hear. 

We get power from sharing our stories. Witnessing survivors' perspectives shifts the power back into their hands. These stories transport us from homes in Egypt to England and to Palestine. We know it’s not always easy to listen to, but it’s important to be heard, to be witness to the complexity of lives, and resilience of people, people fighting for air and remembering to breathe.

“Every time I look at you, you take me someplace so far away, I forget to breathe.”

Some days are so hard, we get through it by imagining another place, with another person, in another reality. Youssef’s melancholic journey through his past, through relationships and pain, leads him to fantasies of a place where he can love who he wants and is loved for who he is.

Content warning: stories where you mirror the character as they move around their homes can have a powerful impact. This story contains mention of a past experience of childhood sexual assault. We encourage the audience to listen to their instinct on whether they are in the right time or place to listen or not. 

Play Inside Series 2: How to be a Real Man or The Availability of Air is a selection of embodied audio stories from writers from Palestine, Egypt and the UK, funded by the British Council International Collaboration Fund and directed by UK artists Michelle Roche and Rosie Poebright (Splash and Ripple) in collaboration with Dawar Arts, Egypt and The Freedom Theatre, Palestine

Welcome into our worlds. Into our homes, into our lives. 

Come, join us for a moment. 

Witness what we see, what we feel, what we hear. 

We get power from sharing our stories. Witnessing survivors' perspectives shifts the power back into their hands. These stories transport us from homes in Egypt to England and to Palestine. We know it’s not always easy to listen to, but it’s important to be heard, to be witness to the complexity of lives, and resilience of people, people fighting for air and remembering to breathe.

"You are finally meeting your sperm donor for the first time. You have brought friends with you. For safety….Because you know NOTHING about him…"

When is a choice not a choice? Meesh wants a baby, as a ‘solo mother by choice’, and has made plans to make this happen. ‘It’s only sex, right?’ Unravels the complexity of morality and coercion, when the stakes are so high and ‘No’ isn’t being taken for an answer. This fictional story belongs to so many women, please feel free to pause or stop this story if at any time you need to. 

Content warning: stories where you mirror the character as they move around their homes can have a powerful impact. This story contains content around the real time experience of sexual coercion. We encourage the audience to listen to their instinct on whether they are in the right time or place to listen or not. 

Play Inside Series 2: How to be a Real Man or The Availability of Air is a selection of embodied audio stories from writers from Palestine, Egypt and the UK, funded by the British Council International Collaboration Fund and directed by UK artists Michelle Roche and Rosie Poebright (Splash and Ripple) in collaboration with Dawar Arts, Egypt and The Freedom Theatre, Palestine

Welcome into our worlds. Into our homes, into our lives. 

Come, join us for a moment. 

Witness what we see, what we feel, what we hear. 

We get power from sharing our stories. Witnessing survivors' perspectives shifts the power back into their hands. These stories transport us from homes in Egypt to England and to Palestine. We know it’s not always easy to listen to, but it’s important to be heard, to be witness to the complexity of lives, and resilience of people, people fighting for air and remembering to breathe

“I was a cat with nine lives. Every one of her souls honourable… a fighter… who deserved to live.”

What does it take to understand it’s not all your fault? Trace a stream of shisha bubbles through the imagination of a Jouska who has traversed many selves through violence in order to live, and dance, and smoke.

Content warning: stories where you mirror the character as they move around their homes can have a powerful impact. This story contains mention of a past experience of physical assault by family members. We encourage the audience to listen to their instinct on whether they are in the right time or place to listen or not.

Play Inside Series 2: How to be a Real Man or The Availability of Air is a selection of embodied audio stories from writers from Palestine, Egypt and the UK, funded by the British Council International Collaboration Fund and directed by UK artists Michelle Roche and Rosie Poebright (Splash and Ripple) in collaboration with Dawar Arts, Egypt and The Freedom Theatre, Palestine

Welcome into our worlds. Into our homes, into our lives. 

Come, join us for a moment. 

Witness what we see, what we feel, what we hear. 

We get power from sharing our stories. Witnessing survivors' perspectives shifts the power back into their hands. These stories transport us from homes in Egypt to England and to Palestine. We know it’s not always easy to listen to, but it’s important to be heard, to be witness to the complexity of lives, and resilience of people, people fighting for air and remembering to breathe.

“Mum used to hug me everytime he shouted. Her only words were: it’s OK, but you shouldn’t have talked back at him, you made him even angrier.”

Fatima and her brother both left home a few years ago, but she was the one who came back. Memories of her firm friendship with him in childhood meander through the incidents that led them to their distant present.

Play Inside Series 2: How to be a Real Man or The Availability of Air is a selection of embodied audio stories from writers from Palestine, Egypt and the UK, funded by the British Council International Collaboration Fund and directed by UK artists Michelle Roche and Rosie Poebright (Splash and Ripple) in collaboration with Dawar Arts, Egypt and The Freedom Theatre, Palestine

Welcome into our worlds. Into our homes, into our lives. 

Come, join us for a moment. 

Witness what we see, what we feel, what we hear. 

We get power from sharing our stories. Witnessing survivors' perspectives shifts the power back into their hands. These stories transport us from homes in Egypt to England and to Palestine. We know it’s not always easy to listen to, but it’s important to be heard, to be witness to the complexity of lives, and resilience of people, people fighting for air and remembering to breathe.

“To be in a time of war, is to learn how to embroider to candlelight. Embroider the candlelight. And wait.” 

When you can’t go outside, listening becomes a meditation. Remembering and rehearsing for the time you can go outside becomes a way to live again. Curfew describes the distortion of time when it’s controlled by outside forces. 

Play Inside Series 2: How to be a Real Man or The Availability of Air is a selection of embodied audio stories from writers from Palestine, Egypt and the UK, funded by the British Council International Collaboration Fund and directed by UK artists Michelle Roche and Rosie Poebright (Splash and Ripple) in collaboration with Dawar Arts, Egypt and The Freedom Theatre, Palestine

Welcome into our worlds. Into our homes, into our lives. 

Come, join us for a moment. 

Witness what we see, what we feel, what we hear. 

We get power from sharing our stories. Witnessing survivors' perspectives shifts the power back into their hands. These stories transport us from homes in Egypt to England and to Palestine. We know it’s not always easy to listen to, but it’s important to be heard, to be witness to the complexity of lives, and resilience of people, people fighting for air and remembering to breathe.

This is the omnibus episode of the Other Mothers Play Inside series. Play inside is an experiential podcast where the listener is invited to mirror the actions of the characters in their own home. You'll need a mobile and headphones to listen with.

This sequence of four stories is written from the internal perspective of people circling around motherhood from different sides. The perspectives draw on the writers' direct experiences and interviews with others from their POC and queer communities.
1. Meesh - Meesh wants to be a mother, well maybe she doesn’t- actually she’s not sure.  But having just had IVF life is about to intervene one way or the other.
2. Zoe - Zoe's is love story in two parts, which come together while they’re making sense of their own coming out story alongside having a mum in hospital.
3. Dee - Dee has got 10 mins to sort out her house, and life and get herself up to speed with a toddler and a full term pregnancy
4. Shan - With her diagnosis, Shan's life got suddenly much smaller. Her story is one of reflection and working to be okay with life as it is right now.

If you've enjoyed these stories please donate to the artists here: https://ko-fi.com/playinside 

More information about the project can be found here www.splashandripple.com/play-inside  

This is a Splash & Ripple production in collaboration with WeRebel, funded by the Arts Council England.

#OtherMothers #PlayInside2020 

CREDITS:
Shan was Played by Carol Walton and written by Kat Francois.

Dee was played by Michelle Roche and Written by Deanna Rodger.
Meesh was played by Lynsey Murrell and written by Michelle Roche.
Zoe was played by Elexi Walker and written by Rosie Poebright.

The Narrator was played by Leah Marks.

Sound designer Alexis Adimora,

The Creative Producer was Michelle Roche and the Director was Rosie Poebright.

Meesh wants to be a mother, well maybe she doesn’t- actually she’s not sure.  But having just had IVF life is about to intervene one way or the other.  You'll need a mobile and headphones to listen as you're invited to mirror the actions of the character around the home. 

If you've enjoyed this story please donate to the artists here: https://ko-fi.com/playinside More information about the project can be found here www.splashandripple.com/play-inside  

This is a Splash & Ripple production in collaboration with WeRebel, funded by the Arts Council England.  

#OtherMothers #PlayInside2020   

Meesh was played by Lynsey Murrell and written by Michelle Roche.  

The Narrator was played by Leah Marks.  Sound designer Alexis Adimora,  

The Creative Producer was Michelle Roche and the Director was Rosie Poebright.

Zoe's is love story in two parts, which come together while they’re making sense of their own coming out story alongside having a mum in hospital. You'll need a mobile and headphones to listen as you're invited to mirror the actions of the character around the home.  

If you've enjoyed this story please donate to the artists here: https://ko-fi.com/playinside More information about the project can be found here www.splashandripple.com/play-inside  

This is a Splash & Ripple production in collaboration with WeRebel, funded by the Arts Council England.  

#OtherMothers #PlayInside2020   

Zoe was played by Elexi Walker and written by Rosie Poebright.  

The Narrator was played by Leah Marks.  Sound designer Alexis Adimora,  The Creative Producer was Michelle Roche and the Director was Rosie Poebright.

Dee has got 10 mins to sort out her house, and life and get herself up to speed with a toddler and a full term pregnancy.  You'll need a mobile and headphones to listen as you're invited to mirror the actions of the character around the home. 

If you've enjoyed this story please donate to the artists here: https://ko-fi.com/playinside More information about the project can be found here www.splashandripple.com/play-inside  

This is a Splash & Ripple production in collaboration with WeRebel, funded by the Arts Council England. 

#OtherMothers #PlayInside2020   

Dee was played by Michelle Roche and Written by Deanna Rodger.  

The Narrator was played by Leah Marks.  Sound designer Alexis Adimora,  

The Creative Producer was Michelle Roche and the Director was Rosie Poebright. 

With her diagnosis, Shan's life got suddenly much smaller. Her story is one of reflection and working to be okay with life as it is right now.  You'll need a mobile and headphones to listen as you're invited to mirror the actions of the character around the home. 

If you've enjoyed this story please donate to the artists here: https://ko-fi.com/playinside More information about the project can be found here www.splashandripple.com/play-inside  

This is a Splash & Ripple production in collaboration with WeRebel, funded by the Arts Council England. 

#OtherMothers #PlayInside2020   

Shan was Played by Carol Walton and written by Kat Francois.  

The Narrator was played by Leah Marks.  Sound designer Alexis Adimora,  

The Creative Producer was Michelle Roche and the Director was Rosie Poebright.