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You Press and Park Theatre present
Voices of the Movement
Ada H. Chan was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada almost 36 years ago. For most of her life, she has guarded her heart and defined her happiness based on society expectations. Society trained her well to survive. Two and a half years ago, her daughter, Ori, was born and her heart just burst open. She began to understand what it meant to thrive. And for the first time, she was able to love so openly and whole-heartedly. This bought her happiness because her heart was able to love the way it was designed to. Now she is working to be brave with her love for people in this world.
Work includes staying at home taking care of her daughter and working on her craft as an actress. Hobbies include yoga and watching movies.
Bether Mohammoud was born in Somalia and was raised in Kenya. He came to London when he was 16 years old. Since that time he has developed an interest in Football and his favourite team is Arsenal. Bether enjoys working with his hand and people. With this project Bether wants to develop his soft skills and tell his story. Bether is also a very helpful young man with a kind heart.
Yusuf Almajarhy is from Syria and has been in London for almost 6 months. He is currently in college studying Maths and English. Yusuf is interested in becoming an actor and has an interest in fashion.
Espoir Lima is 18 years old. He is from Congo. Espoir loves music and football. He aspires to become a chef.
Junior Smith is an easy going person who enjoys spending time with his friends and loved ones. Junior describes himself as a very modest person, (some would say too modest). In life he has experienced a lot, some enjoyable moments and others that cause you to not recognise who you are. But he has stood firm in those difficult moments in his life (never giving up).
Through the hardships, he has learned about himself and those around him. Junior has grown to appreciate those moments we describe as ‘dark’ and ‘hurtful’ and has realised that patience and acceptance were the most important values to have. He has also seen and experienced challenges in his life and he is now ready to venture further/forward.
Vanessa Simao is a determined and motivated young woman with the interest to motivate, lead and inspire young women/vulnerable women to find their purpose and go for it with no fear.
She first came to England in 2007 from Lisbon without any idea of where it was going to take her. Started a social enterprise with friends in 2014 (that didn't work out), with the aim to help others in challenging situations. Currently she is a trainee for Young Women Trust and panel member. She enjoys fitness, travelling and being a happy soul.
Omer Mohammed was born in 1977 and when he was 11 years old he moved to East Sudan with his family as Refugees. His father died while they were living in poor conditions. His mother found their new living conditions very hard to cope with, this is because prior to moving East Sudan they were rich and had a very good life. His family had no choice but to adjust to their new life as refugees. Omer has 3 younger sisters and now lives in London.
He aspires to become a comedian and is looking forward to meeting new people as well as to developing his soft skills.
Omkalthoum Mahmoud is a kind-hearted lady from Sudan with a beautiful smile and positive energy. She loves helping people and aspires to become a doctor in the future.
Mohamed Ahmed is a modest man from Sudan who aspires to become a good leader and make a positive difference for his family and community. Mohamed is also affectionate, caring and inspirational.
Yahye Nour is originally from Somalia. He was involved in the pilot project for One Story, Our Voice. With the project, he was also able to understand himself better, discovering and developing new skills and talents that have helped him in his pursuit to become an economist, a director and to make a difference in the world.
He also successfully found a new job and a place to live after being homeless for more than 12 months. What makes Yahye happy and keeps him motivated are his family and his faith.
Yacine Kossaila Salem is from North Algeria. He is an ambitious young man with a generous spirit and a desire to become a successful man. He has learned that “nothing worthwhile comes easy and that you must work hard to make your dreams come true”.
Yacine has a part-time job as a chef and in his spare time he enjoys playing football, learning new skills and spending time with his friends.
Artists
Asabi Hawah is engaging, captivating and beautiful. These are just a few words to describe the music and poetry of this multi-talented performer. Asabi is a soulful singer/songwriter with a diverse style and range - effortlessly meandering from Soul to Reggae to Afrobeat with sounds that she hopes to grab your attention and draw you into her world of heart-felt love and truth.
The music that Asabi produces is light, delicate and simple. Her lyrics coupled with her powerful voice create a world of perfect balance and melodies! Asabi has graced many stages in and around London for a number of years. She is a well-seasoned performer whose material constantly surprises and keeps you wanting more.
Aisling Fahey is a poet who has performed in various locations across England, Ireland, America and India, including the Barbican, the Houses of Parliament and Glastonbury. She was a member of Barbican Young Poets and is part of the Burn After Reading collective, established by Jacob Sam-La Rose and Jasmine Cooray.
Aisling was Young Poet Laureate for London 2014 - 2015.
Lloyd Benjamin aka Ausar Furion is a rapper, singer and a song writer. His passion is creativity with substance and uniqueness and he fully endorses individuality under the premise of "unity in diversity".
Lloyd has enjoyed working on the first You Press project (One Story, Our Voice) as a participant who was homeless, where he was given the opportunity to share his story of being homeless. Since that time he has seen himself grow immensely in the realm of personal confidence and humility.
He decided to contribute to volunteer and support You Press with one goal in mind, "to help", in any way possible through inspiring others of what the changes of self-reflection can bring. Lloyd is no longer homeless and he is currently working but more importantly he is pursuing his dreams, and that is to be a self-sustaining artist.
Katherine Tucker aka E.S.T is a London-born poet with a mixed heritage which includes Asian, Caribbean and Celtic roots. She began to write poetry as soon as she could form sentences, and this became a consistent part of her life about five years ago. This passion has taken different forms through of E.S.T’s life, including hip-hop/rap, and more recently singing too. She currently performs regularly and is working on recording more of her work. Currently her work is as a carer for a young adult who has a profoundly deaf and also a wheelchair user, so she is learning British Sign Language informally on the job.
Alongside this E.S.T is a qualified nutritional therapist undertaking more advanced study. This is something that greatly interests her along with natural remedies and promoting good health. E.S.T does this on a self-employed basis, supporting people one-to-one and running nutrition workshops for children & young people.
Gabriella Sonabend is a writer, visual artist and curator. Moving across different mediums she works with film, painting, music and fiction. Her work is entirely about people and their relationships to one another and their communities. In the past few years Gabriella has exhibited in China, Italy, UK, India and Peru. Gabriella is the founder and director of The Koppel Project a socially engaged creative space on Baker Street.
Her writing has been published by the Young Vic Theatre and the Nomadic Press and her short stories have been aired on NTS radio. Gabriella studied at The Slade School of Art, Bezalel Academy and SOAS.
Last year she was involved in different creative projects as music practitioner with various organisations such as Women for Refugee Women or Music Action International.
Leila Seguin is a French professional musician (Singer & Flutist) performing with her band, Cristobal and the Sea, across Europe. She has background in International Relations and finished her Masters in Development Studies a year ago, after spending two months in Lebanon working with Syrian refugees. She wrote her thesis on the restorative role music can play in helping refugees re-building their lives, connecting to wider communities and integrating in the UK.
She is now working at the British Red Cross as Caseworker and Project Worker supporting young asylum seekers and refugees and organizing various activities for them. She also works one day a week at Counterpoints Arts.
Miss Jacqui is a Spoken Word Artist, Mix Engineer, Facilitator, and Artist Manager. As well as being an Ambassador for multiple organisations that she holds close to her heart. Her love for Spoken Word/Poetry came to light in 2011, when she joined “Poets Platform” led by Kat Francois.
Since then she has performed at various locations like the Paralympic Team Welcoming Ceremony as well as the Opening Ceremony. Miss Jacqui has worked with Halfmoon Young Peoples Theatre, Theatre Royal Stratford East, National Youth Theatre and Channel 4, just to name a few.
She is also the youngest board member of Graeae. Miss Jacqui believes that creativity is a universal language and in her spare time, she is devoted to the exploration of theatre, music, poetry, song writing, and of course performing.
Omar Bynon is an actor, performance poet, theatre-maker and Facilitator from East London. He has been involved in the arts since he was in school and it’s been his passion ever since.
Omar’s work is rooted in his community. He is determined to tell the stories of the most marginalized throughout his life and he is proud to have been involved in dozens of community projects across London. Omar has performed nationally – at bars, festivals, schools and every kind of venue in between – both as a solo poet and as a member of spoken word trio Rhythm of Men.
Omar is a founding member of Theatre Royal Stratford East’s Spoken Word collective and I’m a Barbican Young Poet. He has also completed the LAMDA Foundation in April 2016.
Raggo Zulu Rebel is a London artist who blends hip hop, reggae, R&B, acoustic soul and a splash of grime – with a message. Also known as JAH MESSENGER, the message in his music is very important. He has performed & recorded all over the UK, the West Indies, Ireland & Prague and headlined Sol Music Festival Sicily.
Raggo Zulu Rebel has shared stages with the likes of UK hip hop stars Rodney P, Lowkey, Wretch 32, No Lay, SkinnyMan, Swiss (So Solid), English Frank, Logic, Ty, Maverick Sabre as well US legends Guru (Gangstarr) and Saigon. Raggo has worked with Big Cakes, Logic, Plan B, amongst others.
His latest album “the return of JAHMESSENGER” is on iTunes now.
D.Tail is an East London emcee (MC), spoken word artist and all round jazz enthusiast. He is the co-founder of Clap4me the musical collective (Acronym: Constant Love And Passion 4 Music Entertainment) and a member of The collective known as Baishe Kings. He continues to grow and spread his music after last years "Attention To D.Tail" album, which was released via Bandcamp and Datpiff.
He can be heard on Baishe King Albums "Cheese", "Fe Puss" & "4/4" as well as "EyeBrowse" By Clap4me's own RaggZ and is currently preparing for this year’s release of his follow up project being collaboration with F.King Taisho known as "Oh Dear Ghaad! (God)".
He's been an active performer on the spoken word scene since the age of 14 (12 years) and his encounters have taken him on many journeys, one special one being with YOU PRESS.
Duncan Mortimer is an improvising musician, predominantly on the violin, but also with guitar, keyboard, percussion, and vocals. Aside from the Voices of Redemption project, he currently plays violin in Zootrophic, an improvised theatre and dance ensemble.
In the past, he has performed in a range of groups and style ranging from Klezmer and Balkan to middle-Eastern folk. He’s played viola in the Brisbane Philharmonic orchestra and most notoriously, was cupboard-bassist, singer, and head crowd-harranguer for the Southampton-based junk band “Skipped”.
Emily Churchill Zaraa is a singer and songwriter with a background in media, storytelling and advocacy/ arts projects with refugees and asylum seekers. She does her music both as a solo artist and as part of the multicultural collective Raast, and in recent years her music has focused on more personal stories of displacement and war from Syria.
Emily is a national coordinator of Refugee Week at Counterpoints Arts, a UK-based organisation that supports art projects by and about migrant and refugees.
Marie Luise Schimke was born and raised in Germany. She graduated in Cultural Studies in Berlin. After a year of studies at UCL in London she decided to stay and London became her home. Marie loves to travel and has also lived in Argentina and in Dominican Republic, where she worked for NGO’s. Tango, piano, singing and percussion are just a few of her musical passions besides working for a jewellery brand.
Marie loves living the contrast - big city life in London and cycling, while also hiking and camping in the countryside. She is curious about the world and enjoys meeting new people.