Bethlehem Wolday-Myers Talks Us Through ADEY!

Hello all, and welcome back to yet another week of interviews with our incredible ‘MAKE SPACE!’ theatre makers.

This week, we dive into the world of ‘ADEY ኣደይ’, a one woman play written and performed by Bethlehem Wolday-Myers (She/They) that explores womanhood, identity and relationships in Eritrean culture. ‘ADEY ኣደይ’, is a story packed full of dance, spoken word, and movement, but at its heart is a story of love and sacrifice between mother and daughter.

If you want to learn a little bit more about Bethlehem, Eritrea and ‘ADEY’ please continue to read this energetic interview we sat down for during rehearsals:

B: “The arts and theatre are not really that a thing in Eritrea, because it’s quite an oppressive state and country. There’s only one TV channel. It’s been dubbed the ‘North Korea of Africa.’

While this is a striking feature of the country, certainly, this is not the primary story that will be told in ‘ADEY’.

B: “I am very, very proud of being Eritrean. I know I can use my writing as a vehicle for change.”

‘ADEY’ is a very special play that we are honoured to include in the Make Space festival. Because of both a lack of Eritrean representation in the arts, and a lack of representation of arts in Eritrea, ‘ADEY’ is one of the first of its kind, telling a story that doesn’t focus on the oppression of Eritrea, but a story of family, ruthless love, and determination.

B: “As more projects like this get put on the map and get recognition, I think more Eritrean people will come forward. Especially the young people as well. My younger cousin has already expressed an interest in acting and writing. I think in the next couple of years, there’ll be more representation, and people will get to know Eritrean stories.”

Throughout the performance, Bethlehem invited audience members both of Eritrean descent and not, into Bethlehem’s living room.

While I was interviewing Bethlehem, they had their rehearsal space set up with furniture and decor from home.

B: “The number one thing for us is the coffee table. It’s small, you’ll crouch down, sat on a very small stall that we call a member, and to the front of you will be the coffee table, to the left a gas stove, and then other little bits and bobs. Popcorn is very important in our culture. And then there will be sweetbreads and a saucepan to roast coffee beans and then a mat underneath.

I grew up with the smell of coffee beans roasting and frankincense burning. It reminds me of my mum and my auntie sitting down for hours and hours and hours, gossiping about people and talking about the world.”

The title of Bethlehem’s play, ‘ADEY’, translates directly to ‘My mother’ in Tigrinya, the language spoken in Eritrea that is believed by linguists to be one of the oldest languages spoken.

B: “I try my best every day to ask my mum to speak to me in Tigrinya, because to me it’s very important to know my mother tongue. It’s been difficult, there have been certain things I’ve had to ask my mum just to make sure we’re getting it right. But there’s also been distinctive things and sayings that other Eritreans will recognise

“I think for them to hear Tigrinya in a play, […] it’s going to blow their minds, because Tigrinya is not known as a language. With how special it is and how ancient it is, for me to bring it here to this space in London, it’s going to touch a lot of people.”

The stories and voice of Bethlehem’s mother live at the heart of ‘ADEY’. She will be speaking directly to Bethlehem’s character through recordings. Relationships between mother and daughter can be simultaneously harmonious and complicated, and this is something that Bethlehem identified with when I asked her what her main take-away from her mother’s stories was.

B: Her resilience. What motherhood is, I think, and what being a woman is to my mum. As the years have gone on, I’ve had to learn that my mum is a human being, even though she’s my mother and she drives me insane, she has her own stories and her own reasons. Through doing this work I’ve been able to understand why sometimes she might baby me or be too protective. I’ve taken a step back and been able to look at her timeline.

‘If she can give me what she never had, Tell me what she never heard, Show me what she never saw, She can say at least she experienced love…’ from ADEY ኣደይ by Bethlehem Wolday-Myers.

Coming up through Bubble’s ‘Youth Theatre Makers’ course, Bethlehem, an avid poet, actor and writer, has taken up the pen to lend her spoken word and theatre making skills to the stage:

B: The passion was always there regardless, but definitely through doing YTM, it inspired me to go forth and make my own work even more. It showed me that collaboration is really important, and that connection is really important.”

Dipping between the living room setting and the meta, ‘ADEY ኣደይ’ takes place across a range of locations, including an open mic night venue and North London’s West Green Road. I wanted to ask Bethlehem what inspired this idea, and how it’s going in the rehearsal room.

B: “In most of my poetry, I love to write about places that have touched me. For example, one of the poems that I feature is called ‘The Queen of West Green’, where my parents met. It’s transporting from place to place, because there are so many places in London that mean so much to my mum and to other immigrants who came to London.”

Being the only play in the ‘MAKE SPACE!’ lineup to use spoken word, I wanted to ask Bethlehem what speaks to her about the artform.

B: “I love spoken word because it combines acting with writing. Those have always been my two favourite things to do in this world. I love it because so many people can express themselves about things that they don’t say to others, about things that are bubbling away inside them, and then they’ll perform, and you can see the passion.”

I would like to thank Bethlehem for taking time out of her schedule to chat with me and would like to congratulate her on her SOLD OUT performance of ‘ADEY ኣደይ’.

We are so lucky to get to work with such inspired and inspiring artists, more of whom will be joining us across the coming weeks of ‘MAKE SPACE!’ So, keep your eyes peeled for more content coming soon!

Thanks for reading,

London Bubble.

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