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Joe Sellman-Leava is important and so is his message. His highly acclaimed one man show is a must for any human-being who is lacking in empathy for our current crisis regarding refugees. He stands before you and tells you his personal story with sincerity and biting honesty that leaves you breathless and at times ashamed to have elected such a bigoted government. Sellman-Leava fits into an hour his life story thus far, by explaining his mixed heritage, the racism he and his family have endured and in doing so teaches us a lesson in humility.
Originally from Devon, England, he speaks highly of his Indian father and English mother, he relays their journey and lets us inside his family’s torment and ultimately their strength and survival. Occasionally plucking the humour from his rhetoric, allowing the audience to compose themselves or wipe their tears, Sellman-Leava stands before you with his story, but reminds us that his tale is just one of thousands.
The story is delivered in a confident and precise manner using sticky labels to illustrate society’s need to pigeon-hole people, thereby fuelling dangerous stereotypes. Mimicking politicians and world leaders, some more successfully than others, the quotes display how far we still have to go in regard to acceptance, empathy and respect of those different from ourselves. This show is important and I urge everyone to experience what the media leave out; after all we are from one place…Earth.
Kerry Cooper
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