A review and reflection on Babel – You Can’t Grow Melons in the UK – 23 + 24 June 2021

We were extremely excited to be able to present this new piece of theatre from our International group, Rapport, despite the continued presence of Covid and the restrictions placed upon us. It was a thoroughly fitting show to celebrate the re-opening of the building and to look forward, as a theatre organisation and as a community, to better times ahead.

The piece was devised and performed by a group of eight community members, all of whom came from abroad, but are making Bristol their home. Set on an allotment, the characters were created from their own experience of displacement, isolation and a feeling of being a foreigner in a hostile world. What shone through was their hope, their resilience, their humour and their camaraderie. It filled the theatre with a sense of hope and admiration for the difficulties they, and so many like them, face.

The show was part of a wider, European project, Rapport, that had seen an exchange of ideas and techniques between acta and companies in Poland, Spain and Sweden. Motifs devised by all four companies were integrated into the theatre show, further enhancing the common experience of migrants, refugees and those living in foreign countries.

Feedback

The audience hugely enjoyed it, the themes obviously resonating with them:

“Fantastic, poignant. An important reminder to remember to notice and to be inclusive.”
“I think it is very important, it truly feels like now more than ever we should connect.”

Want to get involved?

If you would like to be part of acta we have lots of opportunities, including a new adult daytime group starting in September. For more details take a look at our take part page, or email [email protected]