The Perfect Immigrant
Poster by @manueldpoet
With a story woven through prose and poetry, you will shift in your seat as you are teased with the discomfort of this immigrant settling into a new land.
Take sides as loyalty to home is torn by the promise of the new. But the real question is, where do you buy a hot pepper in Lucan?!
What else does a young Black man have to say if it isn’t about racism?
Too busy trying to be an adult, leaving Nigeria and settling in Ireland, he has to find a way to hold on to both worlds.
After a sold-out run at The New Theatre, Dublin Fringe Festival 2022 and a short run at Smock Alley 2022, The Perfect Immigrant is on tour!
Originally commissioned by Dublin Fringe Festival. This project was part of Weft, funded by the Arts Council, An Chomhairle Ealaíon, through the Open Call initiative for 2021. Developed with the support of Fishamble’s New Play Clinic.
- Written and performed by Sam Yakura
- Director Katie O’Halloran
- Lighting by Colin Doran
- Set design by Pai Rathaya
- Sound design by Cameron James Macaulay
- Choreography by Alessandra Azevedo
- Stage management by Alexandra Ayvazova
- Produced by Bellaray Bertrand-Webb
- Dramaturgy by Carys D. Coburn
- Photography by Simon Lazewski
- Poster by @manueldpoet
- This witty and carefully crafted confessional show, sliced up via fervent spoken word poems, centres on family dynamics, the experience of emigrating to a foreign land, and the feeling of being an outsider for the first time. ★★★★ Buzz.ie
- Under Katie O’Halloran’s direction, everything is kept simple and easy, O’Halloran making sure to give Yakura plenty of room to breathe. The result is less a play or, thankfully, a lecture, so much as a one-to one encounter. Yakura’s greatest strengths being his honesty and presence, which makes the entire audience feel connected. ★★★★ Arts Review
“He creates an instant rapport with the audience and holds them throughout this view of life in Dublin, from the outside looking in!”
“As a Nigerian in Ireland, Levi is being constantly othered: his reciprocal othering of Irish culture is effective and funny.”
