2 February

The half concert/half play where music and theatre collide tells the story of a Jewish woman caught
up in the conflict of 1492 and channels the stories of others. It will tour England from 2 – 6
February and 22 – 26 May, beginning at Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton on Friday 2
February at 7.30pm – 9.15pm as part of Wolverhampton Literary Festival.

Into the Melting Pot follows Blanca (played by Clara Perez), a Jewish woman facing expulsion
from Spain and setting sail for an uncertain future as ordered by the Spanish Catholic
Monarchs in 1492. At twilight on her final night in Seville, Blanca tunes into the voices of a
community of Jewish, Christian and Muslim women from across the Spanish peninsula. Her
story echoes down the ages to the personal stories of people affected by politics and war
today. Down the centuries, women’s stories of integration, love, the rich cultural heritage of
the Spanish peninsula and racial intolerance are played out to a soundtrack of plaintive
Sephardic Jewish songs and lively medieval music, with full staging and stunning lighting.

BAFTA-nominated Nicholas Renton directs Into the Melting Pot which stars leading actor of
stage and screen Clara Perez (King’s Head Theatre, Southwick Playhouse, ITV The Bill, BBC
Sea of Souls) and critically acclaimed music and theatre company The Telling.

Into the Melting Pot is written by award-winning writer and The Telling’s Artistic Director and
soprano, Clare Norburn. Clare says, “Into the Melting Pot may be set in the past, but it’s extraordinarily relevant to
contemporary issues right now. Somehow by looking through the camera of the past, I
hope we might be able to see the present more clearly. The story of a Jewish woman forced
to leave her home in 1492 is startlingly contemporary; it is has echoes in issues people face
right now: the rise of Anti-Semitism, how members of the Windrush generation have been
treated and refugees fleeing Ukraine, Afghanistan and Gaza. My character Blanca cries: “This
is our home! My family, my roots in Seville go back hundreds of years. Just where do they
think they are sending us back to….?””

Into the Melting Pot
Friday 2 February, 7.30pm – 9.15pm Arena Theatre, Wulfruna Street, Wolverhampton WV1
1SE
Tickets: https://wlv.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/shows/873653070

Photo credit: Robert Piwko