Migration Matters Festival: Sheffield stage show All the Beds I Have Slept In stars real refugee actors

Phosphoros Theatre are a company of performers with lived experience of forced migration. Their show All the Beds I Have Slept In explores “the seam of kindness and care that lies within their experience of leaving their homelands to seek asylum”.

A spokesperson said: “While it's right that we have been focusing on the news about hosting refugees from Ukraine, we're forgetting the hostile environment we're still showing towards refugees coming from elsewhere.

“Our play is about the kindness and hospitality of strangers in the darkest of times, reflecting on the news coming out of Ukraine at the moment.”

All the Beds I Have Slept In is at the Sheffield University Drama Studio in Shearwood Road, Sheffield on Thursday, June 23 from 7pm.

Moving from a flat in North London to the exercise yard of a Greek detention centre, beds anchor us to the various points of refugee journeys.

A spokesperson said: “Supposed spaces of safety become transient, shelters are taken away without notice and the route from one place to the next is fraught with obstacles. This play is a shout-out to all the real people who kept the actors moving forward.

“It explores the hidden moments of hospitality that change the course of a journey and how to repay them. The intimacy created between friends when family is absent and how to stay hopeful in a scary world.

“From a bench in a station in France to the exercise yard of a Greek detention centre to a flat in North London, the actors reflect on the kindness of strangers that helped them find the next place of safety.”

The play tells the story of friends Sameer and Natty. While Sameer is recognised as a refugee, Natty is not and lives an increasingly precarious existence.

Things come to a head when Sameer’s young brother Mustafa goes missing.

Migration Matters takes place from Friday (June 17) to Saturday 25 with a programme including theatre, dance, film, music, spoken word, talks and workshops.

The event celebrates the city’s diverse communities to bring people together.

Box office:www.migrationmattersfestival.co.uk

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