Founder of LegalAliens Theatre, Lara Parmiani tells us why she set up the migrant-led ensemble/its spin-off the Tottenham Project, and explains the ethos behind her latest directorial effort, Ali in Wonder(Eng)land.
I arrived in London from Italy in the late 90s, a very young woman in love with theatre.
Migration is in my history. My mum’s family had moved from Southern to Northern Italy after the second World War. They were mocked for their accents and called names. My paternal grandmother was a Holocaust survivor from Hungary. I left Italy because of the open misogyny. London felt like the centre of the universe: diverse, open and buzzing.
What surprised me was theatre. In the streets of London, especially in Haringey where I lived, I heard every language and accent. On stage, everyone sounded the same. As an actor I was treated as an exotic curiosity, offered roles as pizza cooks and prostitutes. As a theatre-maker pitching projects, emails remained unanswered. I had no network, no support. But I knew many others like me. We talked about the theatre we wanted to make, about who we were. Not “international artists” passing by. We lived here, paid taxes, built lives, struggled. We were migrant artists.
That’s how LegalAliens Theatre started. To create space for those who felt like outsiders and to experiment with different traditions of theatre-making. In 10 years, we went from staging an unknown Italian play in the fringe to touring internationally with a show nominated for two Off West End Awards.
People tell me that LegalAliens has been a transformative experience for them, a way of forging connections that are inspiring and uplifting. But as anti-migrant rhetoric grew louder in recent years, it felt I had to do something to give voice to people who are constantly talked about but seldom heard. In 2018 we started the Tottenham Project, a free weekly theatre space where refugees, asylum seekers and migrants come together to train, create and feel seen. Some arrived in London decades ago. Some months ago. Some had never stepped inside a theatre. Together they are an extraordinary creative force.
Ali in Wonder(Eng)land — in which the titular character follows a white rabbit’s promises of red buses, perfect queues and the sixth largest economy in the world, to discover a place that looks welcoming but works against you — is the result of that journey.
Created with 17 members of the Tottenham Project — from Iran, Cameroon, Eritrea, Italy, Poland, Spain, Venezuela, Germany, Brazil, Taiwan and Sierra Leone — it stages the absurdity of the immigration “machine”, from nonsensical bureaucracy to crowds groomed into repeating slogans.
Alice in Wonderland provided a frame to explore those experiences through satire, absurdity and humour — often laughter is the only response to an absurd system. It is political. And it is a celebration of resilience. Like London, it brings together people from different countries, languages and histories, all trying to find their place in life and build something meaningful.
Ali in Wonder(Eng)land, Jacksons Lane, 14-15 July 2026.
