MY UNCLE IS NOT PABLO ESCOBAR
By Tom Ross-Williams, Elizabeth Alvarado & Valentina Andrade
THE SHOW
Young Latinx women from South London stand on stage and dare you to call them invisible. My Uncle is Not Pablo Escobar follows a group of activists as they challenge injustice and fight for the representation they deserve.
My Uncle is Not Pablo Escobar is a formally innovative piece of theatre that weaves traditional playwriting with direct action and a live-art aesthetic. The show captures the urgency of an activist rally and the celebration of a festival, bringing together the creators’ experience as theatre-makers, campaigners and activists.
The origins of this show lie in conversations between The Advocacy Academy alumni Valentina Andrade (19) and Elizabeth Alvarado (20) and Creative Director Tom about theatre as a potent tool to amplify their campaigns for Latinx rights in the UK. The Latinx community is the 8th largest demographic in London and currently gets little to no representation in the arts. To hear more about the impetus for the show, watch this short film:
DEVELOPMENT
With support from the Arts Council England and the Aziz Foundation, we were able to undertake an initial research period in Oct 2018 at Battersea Arts Centre and Shoreditch Town Hall. This provided fuel to develop a work-in-progress sharing in spring 2019 after a further R&D period as artists-in-residence at Theatre Deli. Working with producer Daisy Hale, we are now gearing up for a full production to premiere in summer 2020 accompanied by a festival of activism on Latinx rights. Watch this short film of the highlights from our 2019 sharing:
THE TEAM
For the Spring 2019 sharing:
Performers:
Yanexi Enriquez Borges
Camilla ‘Milly’ Harding
Joana Nastari
Camila Segal
Directors:
Tom Ross-Williams
Lucy Wray
Activist in Residence: Valentina Andrade
Casting: Ruth O'Dowd CDG
Producorial Support: Lily Einhorn
Written by the company, based on the experiences & activism of Valentina Andrade & Elizabeth Alvarado
Thank you to:
Pia Laborde Noguez, Gael Le Cornec, Gabriela Garcia Rivero, LatinXcluded: Zharinck Lopez Aguirre, Cecilia Alfonso-Eaton, Krishmary Ramdhun Contreras.
Special thanks to our supporters:
Theatre Deli, Old Vic Connect, Battersea Arts Centre, Shoreditch Town Hall
