Lovely Ugly City

What does it mean to you to live in London?
Multiculturalism and opportunity.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
Brixton holds a special place to me. The food, the people the vibe. This is one special place to me

What does it mean to you to be a Londoner?
I was born and brought up in Hackney so I always feel at home there. Its really changed a lot in the years since I left but whenever I go back there I can still feel that it has the same heart and vibe.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
There are so many historical buildings in London and I sometimes like to sit in these places for a short while and just feel the history of them. The chapel in the Tower of London is a particularly great place to do this.

What does it mean to you to be a Londoner?
London is all I've ever known and the only place I've ever lived. So for me, London is my little world.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
Hampstead Heath. I have so many memories across the Heath. I used to train for the Highgate Harriers on the running track there, swim in the Lido and get lost on long walks. The vastness of Hampstead Heath feels like a countryside retreat from this city.

What does it mean to you to live in London?
I love living in London because there is always more to explore. I know I can go somewhere and get lost. You can visit the same place twice and have a different experience each time. The diversity is something to be treasured and makes the it's all the better. I know that despite many millions living here there is still a sense of community.

Tell us about a secret place in London.
There is a great cafe in new Covent Garden market. Their bacon butties are to do die for.

What does it mean to you to live in London?
To be constantly suffocated, isolated, and exhausted. But at the same time, to be showered with choice and opportunity, connected to everyone, and surprised every day. To always be in fast forward motion.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
My rooftop where it is quiet and at night I can see planes that look like stars landing over London’s suburban skyline.

What does it mean to you to live in London?
Being and living in London means being part of a big community. A community of all races, backgrounds, religions, colours and ... . There are not that many cities in the world that can offer you this amazing environment.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
A special place for me is the Olympic park. I was lucky enough to perform at the London Paralympic Opening and Closing ceremonies, which was an amazing experience and has led me on to doing more interesting performance projects including performing in Lovely Ugly City at the Almeida.

Where in London do you feel most at home?
The bus. We're all equal on the bus, all just trying to get somewhere, but we're more alive on the bus than maybe we are on the tube. More ourselves. You have the people reading, listening to music and keeping to themselves but you also get these snapshots of people's lives. Friends chatting, an overheard phone conversation, a song being played out loud, someone munching on fried chicken or watching Bake Off on an iPad. Life slows down for a moment, just enough for us to take a breath.

What does it mean to you to live in London?
It means a great deal to me to live in London, it is full of opportunities.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
I feel most at home in East London it's the first place I arrived and lived, before doing a geographical and ending back in East London.

Where in London do you feel most at home?
My village is Acton. London historically is made up of villages and I do think that most areas have a distinct feel. Acton, despite being between the glorious middle-class havens of Chiswick and Ealing, still retains the essence of its gritty industrial past. My irish parents met here at the zebra crossing on Horn Lane. I was born here and have always lived here (I discount the move to Wembley in the late 80s – never home. Never). I live in Horn lane still and were I to become rich I would still stay in Acton. A more luxurious existence yes but still Acton.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
Chinatown. I like to be close to a lot of roast duck.

What does it mean to you to be a Londoner?
To be a Londoner to me means - bright sparks of life chasing round in a beautiful, exquisite cacophony.

Tell us about a secret place in London.
Lavender Fields near Vauxhall, Nunhead Cemetery for its peace and beauty and greenery.

Where in London do you feel most at home?
I feel most at home in my new neighbourhood of New Cross, balancing my time between the pop-up art galleries, library or Rose's Kitchen. I'll challenge anyone to find a nicer, more homely Caribbean food shop than our Rose's.

Tell us about a secret place in London.
Leake Street tunnel under Waterloo station is my secret little gem of our city. The walls of the alleyway covered in colour, hiding two secret little doors; one leading to a skatepark and the other a really cool venue which hosts amazing events such as the Vault festival.

Where in London do you feel most at home?
I have lost count of the number of times I've walked along the South Bank, from Waterloo Bridge up to The Globe Theatre and beyond. Every time it makes me smile and fills me with the same warm feeling I get when I return to my family home in South Wales.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
The view from the middle of Waterloo Bridge. The skyline, the colours, the stories: that view is my London.

Where in London do you feel most at home?
Kilburn in North West London feels like home; this is where I first rented my own flat and felt most settled. Although I haven't moved far, I still miss having the crazy neighbours, charity shops, cafes, library, Tricycle Theatre and chaos on my doorstep.

Tell us about a secret place in London.
After living in London for ten years, my boyfriend and I stumbled upon the Hill Garden and Pergola on Hampstead Heath purely by chance one spring afternoon. These secret gardens had a dreamy, faded quality and seemed to go on forever, with barely another soul in sight; the perfect place to while away the day.

Where in London do you feel most at home?
Waterloo, where I live. I moved there about five years ago. I never imagined I'd live in Central London but by doing so it 'rebooted' my life.

What does it mean to you to live in London?
London mostly takes in guests for a while, to be a real Londoner you have to born here. So I’ll always, and gladly, be a Welsh woman living in London. Living in London gives me freedom to be who I want and do what I like.

Tell us about a place that is special to you in London.
Early evening, Soho, winter and it’s raining. The tourists disappear and you’re left with neon signs and dodgy characters. I love the grimy anonymity - and the cocktails.

What does it mean to you to live in London?
Unexpected grumpiness and unexpected kindness.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
Hyde Park at dawn.

Tell us about a secret place in London.
A secret(!) place in London that is special to me is the ‘hidden’ bar Kahoots in central London where the waiters and waitresses adorn 1940s attire and adopt a demeanour and manner of speaking characteristic of the time. The bar itself is bedecked with war-time memorabilia and is set up to be a bomb-shelter-esque underground station. I love the theatricality of Kahoots!

What does it mean to you to live in London?
To live in London is to live in a city that makes you make the most of life's opportunities.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
I belong and feel most at home at theatres in London because in pursuit of that art form I moved halfway across the world from India to London when I was 18.

Tell us about a place in London that is special to you.
My room in London is my special place. It is a room of my own, with no special view, but it is my room, my space. It is my space where I can launch into the busy, beautiful, brash world or where I can hole up and block out the testy, traumatic and tense world.

Jo trained at Jasmin Vardimon company at RHUL, Odin Teatret and the National Theatre, where she was Resident Director in 2016. She has performed and directed work for Gameshow, Tangled Feet, LIFT/Papatiha and the NT, and is co-artistic director of ivo theatre. She is currently developing Drone / Signature Strike with the National Theatre and National Film Board of Canada, and Motherland, a drag king's homage to homo-nationalism.

Jo has facilitated workshops and taught master classes for GLYPT, Peckham Shed, Platform, The Freedom Theatre, Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children, the Afghan Peace Volunteers, Thespo Mumbai and Now Press Play. She has an MSc in Violence, Conflict and Development.

Theatre includes: Skin a Cat (Bunker Theatre and Vault Festival 2016); Sir Und Wir (Werk X); Lean (Tristan Bates Theatre); Totty (‘Come to Where I’m From’, Paines Plough/Tamasha); Bright Nights (The Space, Winner of the Script6 Prize); Sleight of Hand (‘Little Stitches’, Theatre503, Arcola Theatre and Gate Theatre).

Isley Lynn is an American-born, London-based playwright and poet. Her latest play Skin A Cat was nominated for three Off West End Awards, including Best New Play, after being awarded ‘Pick Of The Year’ at the Vault Festival. She is a graduate of the Royal Court Young Writers Programme and Royal Court Invitation Studio Group and was a Creative Associate of the Soho Theatre Young Company. Her work has been supported by writing programmes at the National Theatre Studio and Cottesloe Theatre, Lyric Hammersmith, the Tricycle, Theatre Royal Stratford East, Ovalhouse and the Orange Tree Theatre. Her new play is currently in development with support from Old Vic New Voices, the Michael Grandage Company and the Arcola Lab. She has also written two short films, Taketh and Struck, the latter of which will premiere at the Sydney Film Festival.

Ellie is a Bristol based singer, performer and composer who specialises in acapella and music in a theatrical context. Her collaborative work has ranged from intimate shows designed for an audience of one to sold out theatre tours across the Globe. Looking to push the limitations of the human voice, she actively seeks out challenging and engaging performance and composition work. Ellie studied Contemporary Music Performance at Dartington College of Arts, graduating in 2009.

Beth is currently the Participation Intern supported by Creative Access. She recently graduated from the StoneCrabs Young Directors Scheme where she directed a production of Wasted by Kate Tempest.