Is Mise Éire Eile and the Potential of Live Theatre to Build More Harmonious Communities

Is Mise Éire Eile: I Am Another Ireland was a theatre project by Crooked House Theatre Company, funded by the Irish Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the European Solidarity Corps. It was conceived and directed by Emily B Ditkovski and written by Ditkovski, Serena Giordanengo, Yassine Barkaoui, and members of the Company.

Drawing from real-life testimonies of international protection applicants, local residents, and community leaders, Is Mise Éire Eile examines the challenges and tensions that arose when a local guest house in Newbridge was repurposed as a direct provision centre in 2023. The production brings to the stage the voices of those directly impacted, highlighting both the fears and hopes that emerged within the small town and its community.

An abridged version of Is Mise Éire Eile: I Am Another Ireland toured to secondary schools in County Kildare reaching over 200 transition year students in five schools.

The production toured nationally to eleven cities and towns across the country, performing for nearly 700 people.

GOALS

Foster Open, Honest, and Respectful Dialogue: The piece not only gave voice to the experiences of IPAs, but included primary source material like news articles, U.N documents, interviews with community leaders, local politicians, and residents of Newbridge. By including multiple viewpoints, we hoped to demonstrate that community cohesion comes with listening to perspectives with which we may personally disagree.

Data Collection: Crooked House tracked audience viewpoints on attitudes towards IPAs through post-show surveys. The data noted the efficacy of live theatre to deepen understanding of the migrant experience, decrease fear about IPAs themselves, and build bridges between migrant and white Irish communities.

Humanise the Experience of International Protection Applicants: In creating an original performance using the words of IPAs themselves, Is Mise Éire Eile harnessed the power of theatre to bring IPAs lived experiences to the stage. This project helped communities in Ireland develop an understanding of the situation forcing migrants to seek asylum, allaying fears and misunderstandings that lead to anti-immigrant sentiment.

Bridge To Involvement: Each performance on the National Tour was followed by a discussion led by local leaders from the community and discussed the immediate needs of International Protection Applicants and ways to get involved in the movement towards integration. We developed a guide for audiences that includes a list of resources to learn more and how to volunteer. For the school tour, a curriculum guide with pre and post-show exercises was supplied to schoolteachers who set the stage for the performance and carried on the learning beyond the performance itself, giving educators and community leaders much-needed tools to help local integration practice.

IMPACT: School Tour

Relevance of the Topic: Before the performance, 28% of students rated the themes as highly relevant to them After the event, this rose dramatically to over 90%.

“I forgot that people I see on the street and that come into the country also have their own life and background.”

Knowledge Gain: 65% of students rated their knowledge gain on the topic as significant.

“It helped me realise how bad the situation in Ireland really is for people seeking protection.”

Willingness to Act: Nearly 64% said the event significantly increased their interest in supporting people seeking protection.

IMPACT: National Tour

“[it is]important to understand both sides, so that haters can be “reasoned” with. We live in such divisive times, anything to make people listen to one another is a good thing.”

Willingness to Act: 79% said the event significantly increased their interest in supporting people seeking protection. 74.8% said they would talk about the topic with friends or family. 58.3% planned to volunteer with organisations that support international protection applicants. 51.3% said they would support politicians who advocate on behalf of international protection applicants.

Relevance of the Topic: Before the performance, 72.1% of audiences rated the themes as highly relevant to them. After the event, this rose to 88%. 10.4% of this movement was from respondents who previously rated the themes as a little or moderately important.

“Stories change minds way more than debate does.”