Illusions of Liberty
Illusions of Liberty
Past Performance
In The Theatre
February 15th - February 17th 2021

A One-Woman Comedy show where invisible illness and a 'hostile environment' collide.

Air is invisible.
A vibe is invisible.
Time is invisible.
A giggle is invisible.
And so are many illnesses.

Illusions of Liberty is a Black Comedy about a woman who has a fake identity, but not one she’s chosen. She’s in a constant battle to maintain what people believe she is. Over the course of four days, after traumatic news, she battles with hard truths, and convincing lies. 

‘Liberty Jones’ is a Principal Cellist. For five years she has been plagued with an increasing number of bewildering symptoms. Five days ago, ‘Liberty’ received a diagnosis of an illness that no one can actually see.

Illusions of Liberty follows her for four days where we see her struggle with her diagnosis and the mother-daughter relationship.  At the same time, she struggles to maintain her equilibrium in her new status and relationships.  How does she feel when the dust settles? How does she deal with her normal? And how many new 'normals’ will she have to adjust to in four days.

Including live music, Illusions of Liberty is a funny, poignant and revealing Black comedy drama which challenges us to look below the surface and ‘see’ the invisible.  It’s a story of love, loss and hope. 

The show premiered at the King’s Head in 2019 as part of their Playmill Festival. This is a further development of the show kindly supported by Funding from Arts Council England and the National Lottery.

Illusions of Liberty is sharing a percentage of the ticket sales with three Charities for people living with invisible illness: The ME Association, Lupus UK and Ehlers-Danlos Support UK 

Read about the Creative Team behind Illusions of Liberty here

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Live Stream Performances:
Monday 15th February, 8pm
Tuesday 16th February, 8pm
Wednesday 17th February, 8pm

Run time: 85 mins

Follow Illusions of Liberty on Twitter | Instagram
www.illusionsofliberty.co.uk
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Press Quotes
"What a wonderful masterpiece created by @LornaWells88 and congrats to @corinneswalker for portraying such a poignant character and creating awareness about ICI. Such a divine experience 👏🏾❤ "
Melissa Parke, London
"Amusing, plaintive and piercing. Many congratulations Lorna, Corinne and the team."
Anna Corbett, London
"@corinneswalker was superb last night in @liberty_2019 written by @LornaWells88, played again tonight at @KingsHeadThtr highly recommended!"
Sok-ho Trinh, London
"What a wonderful story! Saw this one woman play yesterday and cheers are in order for writer @LornaWells88 and actor @corinneswalker 👏🏾🥂"
Rochelle Thomas, London
"Congrats to everyone involved in the one woman play @liberty_2019, an insightful portrayal of relationships in the days after an invisible illness diagnosis "
Kay Julier, Managing Director of Ehlers-Danos Support UK
Creative Team
Lorna Wells Writer

Lorna first developed a passion for story telling as a child, when she would create stories to entertain her younger brothers, a tradition she carried on with her own children. Lorna previously a singer-songwriter had to give up this job due to a number of Chronic Invisible illnesses. 

It was a light-bulb moment and a chance find which led her to begin a MA in writing for Musical Theatre at Goldsmiths. Lorna was again thwarted by her health, and had to leave the course. She continued to write the  book and lyrics for the show, which was developed over three years, into a full-scale musical, called It Tastes Like Home and was performed last year to critical acclaim.

Illusions of Liberty has taken four years to write and is a cathartic comedic piece for Lorna. Lorna hopes that for people suffering with Chronic illness, it will be a chance for them to see themselves represented in a visible way, but for everyone who watches to see the universal themes of love, loss, and hope. 

Corinne Walker Actor - Liberty Jones

Corinne Walker is a professional actress who trained at East 15 School of Drama. She has worked consistently within her profession ever since, both as a performer and theatre practitioner

She is passionate about championing talent in the South West and has links with the Tobacco Factory, Bristol Old Vic, Beyond Face, Missing Pieces and Travelling Light Theatre Company.

Corinne is a versatile performer, able to perform in theatre aimed at children, with Travelling Light Theatre Company, as well as performing in more adult theatre with Beyond face, Missing Pieces and Divergent Theatre Collective to name a few.

Corinne is also a writer who has written and performed in her own One woman show at the Bristol Old Vic, she is also currently the U.K voice of 'Miss Bunty' in the Nickelodeon show Max and Ruby.

Corinne is very passionate about the themes of this show, having relatives with Chronic Invisible illnesses, it is something she identifies with, and is looking forward to bringing it to the stage.

Chuma Emembolu Lighting and Sound Designer

Lighting and Sound Designer Chuma Emembolu trained with the Royal Shakespeare Company, under the tutelage of the Chief Electrician and Lighting Designer.

Highlights: Tales from Ovid - Swan theatre, Don Juan - Hoxton Hall Theatre, Bouncers and Shakers - Gulbenkian Theatre/Marlow Theatre, Tainted The Musical - The Vaults.

Lighting & Sound Design Credits include: A Midsummer Night's Dream, King Lear, The Tempest, Popcorn, Anthony and Cleopatra, Night Before The Buzz. Dare to Do, Last one Here. Romeo and Juliet, Metamorphosis, Gift of the Gab, Tainted The Musical and many more.

Chuma is also associate designer at The Bread & Roses Theatre and a Freelance Lighting Designer/Mentor for Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts. He is the Artistic Director of Stage Splinters Theatre Company, Writing and Directing a Musical adaptation of Macbeth with puppets www.chumalightingdesigns.com

Sally Hardcastle Set & Costume

Sally is a performance designer based mainly in London.

Since graduating with a degree in Theatre Design from Rose Bruford College she has worked with organisations including Wild Rumpus, The Bread and Roses and The Gate Theatre. 

She is also co-founder of new company Matipo. Sally has a particular interest in new writing and community based theatre.

Gwenan Bain Stage Manager & Operator

Originally from West Wales, Gwenan is a London-based Director and Stage Manager. She was the Bread and Roses Theatre’s Emerging Director for 2018 and is an associate artist for BolSHE, a collective that platforms Welsh and Wales-based creative women.

Recent Directing credits include Maisie at the Bread and Roses Theatre (4* Broadway World); Existential Fish and Dread for the same venue (4.5* Within Her Words, 4* London Pub Theatres) and Other – Please Explain for the Park Theatre’s Script Accelerator program.

Assistant Director credits include Romeo & Juliet (Metcalfe Gordon Productions); Love, Genius and a Walk (Theatro Technis); It Tastes Like Home and The Buzz (Bread and Roses Theatre).

Gwenan also works as a Stage Manager and Operator, credits include Dissociated (Etcetera Theatre); Macbeth, the Musical (The White Bear Theatre); Cuttings and Little Echoes (The Hope Theatre); Illusions of Liberty (Kings Head Theatre) and As We Unravel (The Bread and Roses Theatre).

Gwenan originally trained in Musical Theatre and is now an Artistic Director for Stage Splinters, a theatre company specialising in new musicals.

Rebecca Dilg Producer

Rebecca is an independent theatre producer based in London.

Previous credits include Big (VAULT Festival), The Santa Crisis, Visions of Bradford, So You Say, I Will Miss You When You’re Gone and In Search of Myself.

Aisling Gallagher Director

Aisling Gallagher is a director, writer and producer from Belfast. They founded autistic-led theatre and arts company Good Behaviour with Calum Perrin. Good Behaviour have made work with Sydenham Arts, The Library Presents In Your House and have recently undertaken a Festival Echoes residency with Festival Stoke, working with autistic arts group, The Social Agency. The importance of disabled-led work lies at the core of the company, along with a commitment to co-creation and genuine collaboration with communities.

As a writer, Aisling completed the Croydon Emerging Writers Programme with Stanley Halls/Disentangle Productions and was recently commissioned for Spare Tyre’s Signal Fires. Aisling is the current Agent for Change at Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Meera Priyanka Raja Cellist

Meera Priyanka Raja studied at the Royal College of Music with Professor Alexander Chaushian. She was supported by the Musicians’ Company Lambert Mentorship Scholarship and was a Help Musicians UK Postgraduate Award Holder.

As an experienced chamber musician, Meera regularly performs with her piano trio. They have performed at venues across London and Europe and reached the semi-finals of the Royal Overseas League Chamber Music Competition. They were invited to hold a residency at 'Music at Brel', Roquecor. She has performed in festivals including the British Isles Music Festival, Sacconi Chamber Music Festival, Buckingham Palace Coronation Festival and Cello Akadamie Rutesheim in the class of Jens Peter Maintz. 

As an orchestral player, Meera has led various projects at the RCM and was selected to perform in a 'United Europe' tour with concerts in Berlin and Rotterdam as well as joining the Symphony Orchestra of India for concerts in Mumbai and their UK tour. She is a member of Chineke! Orchestra - Europe’s first majority-Black, Asian and ethnically diverse orchestra.

Meera played in the award-winning West End Musical Bend it like Beckham and new musical, Beyond the Fence. She subsequently performed as a solo cellist in a touring theatre production of E.M. Forster’s novel A Passage to India. Meera has performed live on BBC radio3’s ‘In Tune’ programme with composer and tabla player Kuljit Bhamra MBE and has performed solo in venues across the UK and Europe. Her interest in Indian Classical Music has led her to play on the newly released album, Essence of Raga Tala. 

She regularly performs recitals across London with duo partner, pianist Peter Regan.

Meera has a passion for teaching and outreach work. As well as teaching privately, she was most recently a Cello Mentor for the Sparks programme at RCMJD. As part of being a Yeomen Young Artist with the Musicians' Company, Meera is involved in conducting assemblies in schools to introduce the cello and classical music. She strongly believes that every child is deserving of a musical education.