Lemon Lounge

"I'm Palestinian-Irish and I'm not quiet about that and that reflects in the things I write." In this week’s episode, Samia Djilli, one of the Artistic Directors of Lemon House Theatre, chats to writer Hannah Khalil about her experiences of working in the industry as an MENA artist. Hannah shares advice to aspiring creatives, and speaks on the value of building a community in the theatre industry. -- The extracts from Different Sand in this episode were directed by Janisè Sadik, with Iman Boujel playing Linda. The episode was edited by Brigitte Adela. The music was composed by HALI. Find out more about Lemon Lounge here: lemonhousetheatre.com/lemon-lounge

"I've had this sense that if you make it in as a brown woman, you have to defend your spot – there's only space for one of us... That's just how deeply we've been conditioned." In this week’s episode, Samia Djilli, one of the Artistic Directors of Lemon House Theatre, chats to directors Layla Madanat and Janisè Sadik about MENA artists being able to ‘take up space’ in the UK theatre industry. They discuss how far the industry has come and what more it could do to support MENA stories being told on stage, as well as MENA artists being supported off stage. They also chat about the complexities of Arab heritage and how that plays a part in how they as Arab artists tell our stories. -- The extracts from Different Sand in this episode were directed by Janisè Sadik, with Iman Boujel playing Linda. The episode was edited by Brigitte Adela. The music was composed by HALI. Find out more about Lemon Lounge here: lemonhousetheatre.com/lemon-lounge

"Make space for young, emerging MENA artists. I don't think it's hard. I think they just need to want to help.” In this week’s episode, Samia Djilli, one of the Artistic Directors of Lemon House Theatre, chats to artists Iman Boujel and Roann McCloskey about the visibility of the North African artist on UK stages, with a focus on second generation Algerians. They talk about what it means to be a creative whilst embracing their Algerian identity and what compromises have been made whilst doing so. They also discuss the lack of visibility of Algerian and North African artists/stories on UK stages. Finally they share their experiences of being part of the Algerian diaspora in the UK. -- The extracts from Different Sand in this episode were directed by Janisè Sadik, with Iman Boujel playing Linda. The episode was edited by Brigitte Adela. The music was composed by HALI. Find out more about Lemon Lounge here: lemonhousetheatre.com/lemon-lounge

“Because the arts is a generally liberal place, there’s still this idea that we don’t mind that you’re queer… rather than being like, ‘What can we actually do to support and affirm you?’ ” In this week’s episode, Jennifer Cerys, one of the Artistic Directors of Lemon House Theatre, chats to independent theatre & combined arts producer Daisy Hale, and writer and producer Salome Wagaine about the future of queer theatre. They discuss where the queer community can go while doors to theatre, comedy and cabaret shows are closed, and the importance of investing in smaller venues. Finally, they share what they hope queer theatre will look like in 5, 10, 20 years time. We did have some technical issues with this episode as we adapt to recording online. Thank you for continuing to support this series and creating a space for underrepresented voices. We've also got you covered with the transcript of the audio, which you can view on our website: lemonhousetheatre.com/lemon-lounge -- The extracts from Willow in this episode were directed by Abigail Sewell, with Jennifer Dixon playing Gabi and Sophia O'Donohue playing Lottie. The episode was edited by Brigitte Adela. The music was composed by HALI. Find out more about Lemon Lounge here: lemonhousetheatre.com/lemon-lounge