In Good Company, the Midlands’ flagship professional, creative and business development programme for theatre makers, are delighted to announce the commissioning of Demi Nandhra’s Once Upon A Time: It’s Trauma Baby!
Demi Nandhra is a neurodiverse artist based in Birmingham. She makes and curates both solo and collaborative performances, live art, theatre and socio-political enquiries with a focus on mental health, care, trauma and oppression.
In this new work, Demi seeks to explore adverse childhood experiences and their effects on adulthood.
About the Work
Demi has entered her 30s and feels nothing of what she expected to feel. She expected to feel certain of who she is, whole, grown definitely more figured out than a child. But alas Demi is in fact an adult child.
Every Tuesday she attends a support group for adult children (yep that’s a thing). Between bites of biscuits and sips of tea, she shares the chaos and instability of her childhood in the hope of finally growing up.
Once Upon a Time is a eulogy, a ceremony, a moment of mourning for our childhoods that we all desperately need.
How To Get Involved
Over the coming months, commissioning partners, Derby Theatre, Attenborough Arts Centre and Nonsuch Studios will be hosting a series of online Childhood Cafes which will be a safe space to share and explore thoughts, feelings and reflections on our childhoods; the good, the bad and ugly. The space will be held by lead artist, Demi.
Demi Nandhra said: “Somewhere on the internet I read that trauma often keeps us at the age we experience it, a lot of people are exactly the age the hurt came from. And from reading that it all makes sense to me… well not really but I’m curious to make some sense and that’s what this work is.”
Interested in joining and taking part in a Childhood Cafe?
For more details on the project please email a.oconnor2@derby.ac.uk or msrafiahussain@hotmail.com
IGC’s Mid-Career Commission Programme
In Good Company supports artists at all stages of their careers through the mid-career commission programme. Aiding artists in the building of their projects through relationships with different venues and through advocacy, unlocking new potential, and pulling together the region to raise a new generation of theatre makers.
Previous commissions have included Dante or Die’s User Not Found, Ad Infinitum’s Extraordinary Wall of Silence and Unanima Theatre’s State of Independence.
Once Upon A Time is commissioned by In Good Company in association with Derby Theatre, Attenborough Arts Centre and Nonsuch Studios.
Once Upon A Time photo by Tom Kennedy.