When Brexit hit, Canadian born UK immigrant Jennifer Irons was advised by a friendly neighbour to “go home”.
But she’s lived here for 25 years, and the former UK colony doesn’t really want her kind either. Apparently she’s too old, too broke and not nearly sporty enough. In fact, she wouldn’t be eligible for a visa to live in Canada at all if she hadn’t been born there.
In her absurdly funny new show Bad Immigrant, touring the UK in Autumn – Jennifer explains how this led her to seek to become a champion roller-skater. In the creation process she also helped found Skates4Mates, a grassroots project that offers people seeking sanctuary in the UK something radical, joy, community, integration. and friendship through skating.
With her age, qualifications and gender, the only visas she would be eligible for are for the very rich or as an ‘Elite Sportsperson’. So, inspired by a childhood figure skating hero, Jennifer embarks on her madcap quest.
En-route, she discovers an ever-moving, welcoming, inspirational global and borderless community of people of all ages, sizes, nationalities, sexualities, identities, abilities and proclivities. She also highlights the futility and absurdities of borders, and asks, ‘why do we insist on keeping people out of our group when we all simply want to be included?’
Featuring dance, comedic storytelling, German techno, dancing salmon, an original score, creative captioning, projection mapping and, of course, lots of roller skating, Bad Immigrant is an absurdly funny and occasionally sad cross between a leisure roller disco and Stars On Ice.
Jennifer Irons says: “As a white skinned, English speaking person from a ‘friendly’ country I am often considered a ‘good immigrant’. But if I am being targeted by the Leave voting UK population, how are the ‘bad’ immigrants being treated?. If I’m still a stranger after 25 years what does it take to be a friend? I want to make us all think about belonging, colonialism, identity and what better way to have such a serious conversation than on skates?”
Bad Immigrant is in Portsmouth, The Lens Studio, October 1, London, Jacksons Lane, October 4, Sheffield, University Studio, November 8.
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