Victor Esses’ autobiographical story Where to Belong will tour the UK from 3 September to 14 October.
The play will be performed by Esses himself. Throughout the production, he explores identity, togetherness, compassion and empathy using a combination of video projection, photographs and music.
The production focuses on Esses’ travelling. He is Jewish-Lebanese, Brazilian and gay, and visited Lebanon for the first time in 2017 after his mother fled the country as a refugee of the Civil War. In 2018, he visited São Paulo to show his partner the city where he lived in childhood.
It was previously shown at Summerhall in 2019 as part of Edinburgh Fringe.
Heather Ralph will produce the show, whilst set/costume design and visuals will be done by Yorgos Petrou.
Esses said: “The trip to my parents’ homeland of Lebanon was an intense and emotional experience that really highlighted the particularities of my different identities, and how they impact the way in which I relate to the world. Given the increasingly alarming homophobic attacks happening all over the world, it feels particularly important for me to give voice to this and connect with audiences over our fundamental similarities.”
“After such an isolated time, it also feels very pressing to present a piece which is all about connection and understanding.”
A full list of venues and dates can be found on Victor Esses’ website. Tickets can be purchased from individual box offices.
Words by Ellen Leslie
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.
Image Credit: Alex Brenner