Stella Odunlami: Now more than ever we need to question our learned patterns of behaviour

Made Visible is a play that attempts to explore the idea of white privilege and how even the most well intentioned of people can be susceptible to subscribing to racialised ideas of non white communities and individuals. Following a chance encounter with two older South Asian women in Victoria Park, Deborah Pearson [the writer] reflects on and explores the significance of the meeting and what it means to be always be placed firmly in the centre of each narrative, to never be questioned and to always be given the benefit of the doubt.

I was keen to be involved in the project as it is set in the area that I know as home, East London. I thought it was brave for a writer to explore the complexities of the changing demographic of the area and to call out the insidious nature of racism and its unwavering ability to impact on our relationships with one another. I also was interested in being part of something that I believed would provide a set of provocations for an audience to be able to engage in conversations on the subject matter in a meaningful way. The soaring numbers of displaced individuals seeking refuge in the UK and the rest of Europe coupled with the clear increase in xenophobic attitudes highlight, for me, how now more than ever we need to question our learned patterns of behaviour and their subsequent consequences.

It was brave for a writer to explore the complexities of the changing demographic of the area

In the rehearsal room we have decided to be embrace honesty and courage in all that we do. Dealing with such contentious subject matter, and the individual lived experiences of each person in the room demands a level of sensitivity and openness. We have discussed our understandings of the identities that we choose for ourselves in correlation to those that we are labelled with and the impact on those identities in our working lives. We have then of course also discussed the implications of the stories within the piece and their ramifications within the world outside.

It was important for me that we were able to constantly be in dialogue with one another about what we felt and were thinking at any given time, without fear of judgement. The piece is written from the perspective of a white woman, and I am a black woman which has of course thrown up a number of questions about how best to tell this story. Our perspectives and experiences are so dissimilar yet so similar. I hope that the piece has allowed space for that diversity of experience to exist.

Made Visible runs at the Yard Theatre until 9 April.