An innovative solo meta-comic, multimedia theatre piece from Welsh-Iranian performer Roshi Nasehi inspired by real-life experiences of funny, surreal and intimidating racism. Earning comparisons to Stewart Lee, Hannah Gadsby and Meredith Monk this show combines experimental approaches to stand-up, storytelling, singing, animation and live sound art. In 2017 the phrase Ramalama Ding Dong was repeatedly sneered at Roshi by a stranger on a train after he briefly heard her speak Farsi to her family. Her friends urged reporting it as a hate crime. Essex police confirmed that it was part of a general rise in racist hate crime since 2016. Roshi started to recount the story at open mics and Camden People's Theatre''s Shape Of Things To Come fest. She explored re-telling the story with experiments in stand-up and sound art: using vocal processing technologies to create repetitious effects to the point of absurdity, aiming for provocation without becoming preachy. She added further accounts of real-life racism, realising that while racism is no laughing matter it can be risible, surreal and even darkly funny. With support from an ACE Project's Grant, a Covid 19 bursary from Sound & Music, rehearsal space from CPT and NewDiorama plus a wonderful creative team Roshi has gone on to fully develop this piece, performing it at Camden People's Theatre Sprint Fest where it sold out, Newcastle Star and Shadow, Colchester Arts Centre and Summerhall as part of the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe where the piece attracted very positive audience and press responses... ""Stirring and sensitive... entertaining to the last"" The Scotsman. ""A flair for storytelling,"" Lost In Theatreland. With comparisons to Stewart Lee, Hannah Gadsby and Meredith Monk, Roshi is challenging and clever with a quick-witted way of whipping up laughs out of the absurd and awful... she takes a sledgehammer to some of the bigotry she's encountered as a musician of Welsh-Iranian heritage Metro ""Ramalama Ding Dong is at its most distinctive when Nasehi uses her anecdotes as raw material for instant sound pieces, adding loops, harmony and echo to her gorgeous vocals. In this context, the racist remarks become as warped and alien as they deserve to be, their repetitions a kind of exorcism."" The Guardian More shows are planned for 2024. Ramalama Ding Dong Creative Team Music Consultant - Mariam Rezaei (TOPH, TUSK) Script editors - David Stubbs (Bill Bailey, Alan Davies) and Kerry Andrew (Skin) Visuals and lighting design - Al Orange (Imove, Tangled Feet) Director - Peyvand Sadeghian (Dual, Queen Charlotte) Technical Manager- Juliann Pichelski (The Yard, Hen & Chickens, CPT) Project Mentor- Kaveh Rahnama (Nearly There Yet) The show also features beautiful films made by Al Orange and reflections from actor and childhood friend Peter Stray. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjON0jInurA Supported by ACE and CPT
