Tugging at the Sea

Rewriting cliched narratives about migrants, refugees and boats with LegalAliens Theatre.

Artists & Associates

As part of the Tugging at the Sea project, LegalAliens in collaboration with Bedford Creative Arts, ran theatre workshops dedicated to Bedford-based migrants, refugees and asylum seekers interested in acting, performing and having their voices heard.

LegalAliens is a theatre company that includes migrants as artists, creatives, participants and audiences. All workshop facilitators are migrants in the UK and are experienced in working with asylum seekers.

Participants had the opportunity to learn simple acting and performing techniques, as well as other theatre roles backstage. In March 2024, the first initial workshops took place, where participants worked with professional artists to create a performing ensemble and develop ideas to present a performance called ‘Stop (talking about) the Boats!’,

We partnered with The Place Theatre in Bedford as the venue for the Tugging at the Sea workshops and final performance on Saturday 21 September 2024.

Live Performances & Workshops

London

There were performances of Tugging at the Sea at Jackson’s Lane in London on 6 and 7 July 2024.

Bedford

The show was performed again in Bedford on Saturday 21 September 2024 at The Place Theatre, with the opportunity for performers from our Bedford workshops to be part of it.