FOREIGN BODY Comes to VAULT Festival: A Play For The #MeToo Movement

FOREIGN BODY By Imogen Butler-Cole. A Play for the #MeToo Movement comes to VAULT Festival, London 7-11 March, 6pm. Including panel discussion, 90 mins.

1 in 3 of our women have survived sexual violence. We are all affected. We are all responsible.

Foreign Body is the debut solo show by London-based artist Imogen Butler-Cole about hope, healing and forgiveness after sexual assault. The play uses movement and testimonial recordings to tell Imogen's own story, that of the perpetrator of one of her own assaults and those of eight other survivors of sexual assault.

"I was completely inspired by Foreign Body. It... sparked conversation, created empathy, understanding and empowerment. Beautifully written and performed." - Lucy-Anne Holmes, Founder, No More Page 3

In the wake of #MeToo, #TimesUp and the naming of The Silence Breakers as TIME Person of the Year, Foreign Body has never been more relevant in relating the forms that sexual assault can take, the way the most "benign" or extreme cases can impact our lives and that it is always possible to overcome.

"An insightful and necessary piece of theatre. A powerful and poignant performance about coming to terms with sexual assault and finding community and healing afterwards." - Winnie M Li, Author of Dark Chapter and Co-Founder, Clear Lines Festival

Foreign Body aims to destigmatise dialogue around sexual violence. Every show is followed by a discussion with the performer alongside other survivors, campaigners and support workers. At VAULT Festival these will include: Sirin Kale, Associate Editor, Broadly; Nathalie McDermott, Founder, On Road Media; Dr Nina Burrowes, Psychologist and Campaigner on Sexual Violence

"Foreign Body is a truly amazing achievement. Carefully holding audiences on a moving journey through shock, violation and ultimately, slowly, finding voice and power again. Imogen's work blends the silence and embodiment of trauma with authentic voices of survivors, doing justice to both words and the things that cannot be said." - Dr Nina Burrowes, Psychologist and Campaigner on Sexual Violence.

After being developed for two years, the play premiered at Southbank Centre's WOW Festival in March 2017, had a sell-out run at Soho Theatre that summer and toured to festivals such as Brainchild, Clear Lines and WOW Exeter.

"It is affirming that the #MeToo movement has come along when I have been on the road with Foreign Body for a year. It feels like, to quote Victor Hugo, "an idea whose time has come". The culture and conversation have caught up with us"

- Imogen Butler-Cole, writer and performer, Foreign Body

Panel discussions so far have touched on how to react when men we know and trust are named as perpetrators, how forgiveness can impact on healing and what steps we can take to become whole and healed after sexual assault. The conversations have a focus on self-care and ensuring audience members know how to take care of themselves in the event that the play triggers their own personal trauma.

"One of the rewards of performing this play is to model the fact that I can be a survivor and be powerful in my body on stage and in life. It is important for other survivors to know that this is possible" - Imogen Butler-Cole, writer and performer, Foreign Body

Foreign Body is a brave, liberating and life-affirming story which uses a charged combination of physical theatre, verbatim, a stunning original soundtrack and a startling set made of mirrors implying self-reflection and a window into the experiences of others.

"Foreign Body is a delicate, assured, beautiful and subversive piece of work. It challenged and changed the conversation for me." - Inua Ellams, writer of Barber Shop Chronicles and An Evening With an Immigrant

Imogen Butler-Cole trained at RADA and LISPA and has directed and acted in theatre and TV in Brasil, New Zealand, France, Belgium, Bangladesh, India and across the UK. Current projects include acting in Ben Musgrave's Mad Bees Riot in the Light and directing Nina Millns' Delete. She produced The Tempest in Bangla for Shakespeare's Globe. Imogen facilitates at RADA, Theatre Centre and The Midnight Run and has lectured in Drama and Creative Writing at Universities throughout the world. Imogen trains business professionals in communication skills for RADA in Business, The Old Vic and Aspire Leadership, designing and delivering training for companies such as Chanel, Google, Sony and the BBC.

Writer/Performer: Imogen Butler-Cole (RADA, Shakespeare's Globe, BBC)
Director: Fran Moulds (Punchdrunk Enrichment, Coney, Union Chapel)
Artistic Advisor: Kath Burlinson (Founder of Authentic Artist Collective)
Designer: Ana Inés Jabares-Pita (National Theatre of Scotland, Royal Court, Young Vic)
Music/ Sound Design: Tara Franks, Filipe Sousa (Vortex, Union Chapel, Wilton's Music Hall, Southbank)

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