A powerful, solo performance drama, FADoubleGOT, is being staged at The Hive, Shrewsbury on Friday 30th September, 8pm. It is written and performed by Jamal Gerald. Inspired by a black gay experience, this autobiographical piece focuses on the ups and downs of pride and self-loathing.
The production is being staged to mark Black History Month, by FRESh (Fairness, Respect, Equality Shropshire), with support from Shropshire Rainbow Film Festival and LGBT Shrewsbury.
Through storytelling, spoken word and live art, Jamal Gerald develops the courage to tell his story of how he learned to celebrate his individuality, by embracing the slurs that were thrown his way, and how to wear labels without shame.
“Sometimes one word can bring back both good and bad memories. I believe that no one should feel pain over a word, like I have in the past. I am going to show you how I took that pain and did something positive with it.” – Jamal Gerald.
Tickets: £7 Full/£4 concs. From: The Hive: 01743 234970 www.hiveonline.org.uk
It is suitable for over 16s (contains strong language, references to sex and drug use).
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/1761726440772781
About Jamal:
Jamal Gerald is a performance artist based in Leeds. He’s been writing and performing since 2007, originally as part of ‘Leeds Young Authors’. His work is conversational, controversial, a celebration of individuality and focuses on identity and lived experiences. He’s currently making a series of works entitled, ‘Boxes’ which will focus on the concepts of labels and privilege.
“This is my first solo show, which came from a poem that I wrote out of anger. But over time, it developed into something much more. Everyone has a story to tell and I believe you are entitled to share it – that’s only if you would want to, of course. Some awkward stories are told with a smile or tear coming down my face, and then there are some stories where I try my best not to laugh at myself. I want to share my truth, in hopes that it will encourage audiences to share their own.” – Jamal Gerald
Reviews and commendations:
“Jamal puts everything out there in his performances. He’s a storyteller invested in the body and therefore bodacious. He’s a ventriloquist and thus liable to find the pitch of your soul and reveal it to you, warts and all. But better than that he’s the friend you need when the truth that you must hear should make you laugh and cry all at once.” – Fred D’Aguiar Novelist, poet and Professor of English, UCLA, USA.
“Jamal is a dynamic, engaging and arresting performer; combining words and physicality into a challenging and must-see show” – Andrew McMillan, poet.
“Jamal holds the performance space as if it were his own, and with a captivating humility – he seeks out his audience’s response with a fierce compassion.” – Liz Lefroy, poet.
“FADoubleGOT is a sensitive autobiography of Jamal Gerald’s experience of being gay and black. There’s a fresh, honest quality to Gerald’s performance – it totally feels like he’s here in the room with us, and not so much performing as opening up. And he fills the room with his presence; we are all in the palm of his hand…there’s little to touch in this show. It has its language, and it uses it to share itself. …when faced with a show as unambiguously personal as FADoubleGOT, I can’t assault its integrity when it’s self-evident. Jamal Gerald is, intensely, fiercely himself on stage.” – Part of a review by James Varney, writer/theatre-maker.
This is Jamal’s first solo regional tour, with plans to extend to a national tour in 2017.
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