I Am A Voice celebrates International Women's Week at Unity, Liverpool

I AM A VOICE is a local theatre company set up by Lina Sebuyange to raise awareness for women who are mistreated around the world – combining drama, music, poetry, spoken word, story-telling and movement to engage audiences and participants in dialogue and create the first step of giving a voice to the voiceless.

The Unity in Liverpool is staging this event, following the original performance in April 2013 which was a 10-week collaborative project working with a Christian Community Group and a community of Congolese women and children. The project was a huge success and helped local women come together and develop, providing a platform for their voice and giving them strength to want to create change.

In October 2013, Lina was approached by Unity Theatre to perform as part of their ‘Making Art’ scheme, a scheme that supports emerging theatre companies into a professional environment. This second project develops the stories and ideas from the original performance, and, in collaborating with local artists and actors a combination of live music, spoken word, story-telling and movement create a beautiful and exciting piece. The performance draws on real life stories to break the silence and shed light on what has happened, and is happening.

Sebuyange says: “I’m so grateful for the support Unity Theatre are offering, and the opportunity this has given us to develop the project and really engage with important issues. I AM A VOICE is about giving a voice to the voiceless – and bringing these stories and silences to the forefront of people’s minds, showing marginalised communities that their story is important and giving hope, confidence and inspiration to women who've been silenced, for whatever reason.”

I AM A VOICE is at the Unity from 6 – 7 March.