We Are Who We Are

About the show:

Long ago, though very much in the here and now, was a man who mistakenly believed himself to be superior to others. The Wise Ones up in the Great Beyond were irritated by this attitude and chose to ‘educate’ the man by casting him out of his village and ordering him to wander the Earth until he (re)discovered his humility. ‘We Are Who We Are’ covers the segment of his journey where he crosses paths, and spends time with Hungarian Roma. Through song and the exchange of stories the man is able to reassess his place in the world and also discover a simple yet often hidden truth: in the great scheme of life, no one human being is ever truly above or below any other human being.

Chidi Ebere and Ham Ko Ham bring this tale to life through the interplay of words and music.

Bios:

Chidi Ebere, author of award-winning novel Now I Am Here, believes stories are the reason humanity has developed this far. The imagination plucks pieces of the world around us and remixes them into new insights. His greatest joy comes when telling stories in Mezrab; face to face and surrounded by his sisters, brothers and everyone in between.

Ham Ko Ham, a youthful Roma band from eastern Hungary who capture many aspects of modern day living in their music.

Credits:

Storyteller: Chidi Ebere

Ham Ko Ham (musicians): Herceg Sándor Balázs, Levente Balázs, Salamon Rétháti, Csaba Ábri

Boglárka Klitsie-Szabad & Raphael Rodan – cultural and narrative advisers

Instagram #chidi_ebere_story & #hamkoham_

Videos:  There isn’t that much recorded material, however you might find these old Mezrab clips useful: https://www.chidi.org/the-mezrab-collection

Also, here’s a link to Ham Ko Ham: https://youtu.be/Orj4Lwzmlzg?si=l2csZryKTZClfD0E

Extras: 

I’d like to challenge (potential) audience members to ask themselves: ‘Are you really and truly as special and unique as you think?’