Pizza Shop Heroes
2018-20
Credit: David Monteith-Hodge
We’re going to tell you our stories how WE want to.
You’re not here to judge if we’re credible or not.
I am not here to make your conscience feel better.
I don’t need you to feel sorry for me.
Shortlisted for the Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award 2016, this unique emerging company stars four refugee young men who made the arduous journey to the UK on their own as children from Afghanistan, Eritrea and Albania. They have told their ‘stories’ repeatedly to the Home Office as part of seeking asylum and it is the desire to reclaim them that grounds Phosphoros Theatre’s innovative work.
From the precinct of a pizza shop we embark on a journey across time and continents to explore how they got here, where they’re going and what they’ve learnt along the way. It’s a story of male and cultural identity, of family and fatherhood, a lyrical collage of memories, hopes, dreams and imagined realities. From prisons in Libya and Greece to conversations with absent Mothers to raising the next generation of sons.
Starring
Tewodros Aregawe
Kate Duffy-Syedi
Goitom Fesshaye
Emirjon Hoxhaj
Syed Haleem Najibi
Written by Dawn Harrison, with the company
Associate Director - Pavlos Christodoulou
Stay updated here or on Twitter @WeArePhosphoros
praise for pizza shop heroes
★★★★★ 'Fierce, bold, luminous… A resilient, defiant and utterly real reclamation of voices by a group so often ignored, misunderstood or spoken for.' The Skinny
★★★★ 'Pizza Shop Heroes is a very skilled piece of theatre-making by one of the country’s leading applied theatre companies… It’s greatly important that many people see it… It is theatre for our future.' Broadway Baby
★★★★ 'What makes this show fly are the touches added to make it a fundamentally human story, most notably when the script opens up ideas of a future that just might make it all worthwhile, somehow or other.' Three Weeks
'This is a show in which the lived experience of the performers shines through, reminding us that if they are heroes it is because they have to be. They don’t have any choice.' Lyn Gardner, Stagedoor
'This is a show in which every performer is using their lived experiences to tell the story of what it is to be a male child travelling to England as a refugee… A beautiful piece of work.' The Tung
'All four are engaged, increasingly intelligent performers… It’s a genuine joy to see this company develop.' The Stage
'An illuminating and innovative presentation of the asylum seeker’s journey… It will change your perception… It is a play that should be seen by all.' North West End
'An engaging event that sparked numerous discussions afterwards with the audience that informally joined them on stage.' British Theatre Guide
'Powerful, celebratory, affirming, authentic.' What’s On Stage
previous tour venues
Camden People’s Theatre, London
The Bunker Theatre, London
Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Derby Theatre
Theatre Deli Sheffield
Nottingham Playhouse
Kiln Theatre, Cinema
Amnesty UK
South Street Arts Centre
Summerhall, Edinburgh Fringe
Leicester Curve
HOME Manchester
New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth
Theatre Royal, Norwich