LULA.XYZ, the trailblazing electronic artist, performer and storyteller, is set to start her Summer UK and South Africa tour with her debut Glastonbury Festival appearance in the Astrolabe Theatre, bringing her pioneering blend of music, movement and technology to Worthy Farm.
I AM – One of many, many of One is the first part in her modular series, originally premiered at Edinburgh Festival’s Summerhall in 2023 and received the Lustrum Award for most memorable show, winner of the Eclipse Award and nominated for the Filipa Brança Award for Outstanding performance. It tells the story of memory loss, displacement, tradition and survival using projected video, live music and Afrofuturistic storytelling.
We caught up with her to find out more.
Q&A with LULA.XYZ
What can you tell us about your modular series, I AM?
Think of it as Black Mirror meets Atlanta but for the stage. You follow a single protagonist across a season, but you can watch the episodes in any order.
It’s about the girl next door who just happens to be Habesha (Eritrean/Ethiopian), presenting Afrofuturism through an East African lens.
Each episode is like a sequence of vignettes, moments in the day and the life of someone from this community, having a human experience, presented in 4D, just how we experience life itself.
Whilst fantastical, I also break the fourth wall to invite the audience to see the creation process, the complexities of what it means to be the 1st at anything, let alone a young East African woman doing things in the arts that no one has ever done before.
Unapologetic and not designed to spoon-feed, but to give you a window into an experience, it will take you on a kaleidoscope of emotions.
Growing up with the X-Men, it’s what I imagine the future of story telling would be like. Its how I wanted to experience theatre myself, I didn’t see it so I created it.
To quote audiences, there is not a boring moment in sight.
What has it been like working with the MiMu Gloves?
Its been a journey and a half to say the least. I’ve been using them for a decade now.
When I first started, there was only a handful of us using them. There were no school of YouTube to learn from. I had to develop my own practice, process and become a pioneering practitioner. I have my own ‘movement language’ now.
The technology has been well publicised by Imogen Heap and her team with recent showcases on NPR and Spotify with FKA Twigs in music spaces — but I’ve definitely been spearheading it application in theatre. Its a different science in the space.
I am very particular about how, when and why I use them. Whilst the idea of controlling things by moving your hands in the air sounds cool, to be able to do that must make sense. Especially for storytelling.
I’ve chose not to go down some abstract, avant-garde Cunningham or RoboCop style movement. Maybe for a future episode, who knows but for the current ones, it‘s’ very naturalist. So much so, audiences forget I’m controlling the whole technical environment — lights, visual and sound I self operated live. The gloves are a facilitator not the star of the show.
However, I find that audience quite enjoy me flexing occasionally, for a spilt second and so, alas, MiMu does make a full camio not only a facilitate but rather acts as a co-star if you will. Whilst I was just trying to write a story about someone else, my personal story with the technology has made it into the series.
How does it feel to be setting out on tour – and to begin the tour by making your Glastonbury Festival debut?
It is actually my first ever tour and the fact that it begins at Glastonbury is epic. Its kinda mad, definitely affirming. Like a good starting point (to say the least)!
But if I’m honest, I think it won’t really hit me until I’ve done it. Cause right now, I’m busy preparing, we go straight to South Africa after then Edinburgh. So there isn’t enough time and space to be thinking about my feelings too tough as it gets in the way. Prep is very technical and it requires a level of singular focus that anything else is not productive.
I know I’m probably being too honest here. I’m suppose to be saying, I’m supper excited cause all the greats have played here etc. But if I start thinking from that space, I might start getting nervous or something… I don’t know. All I know is, that kind of energy doesn’t help me get the show on its feet. When the curtains go up, it is all on me, not technical team to support.
So perhaps, we can speak about my ‘feelings’ retrospectively slightly smiling face. Maybe when we are next invited to bring episode 2.
You’re also returning to Edinburgh Fringe this year – what can you tell us about the run?
Whilst the I AM series episodes premiered in Edinburgh; this year, you get to experience them back to back. It really does make for binge worthy theatre experience.
We had so many people in the past two years say that they loved the show and when could they see the other and now you can. Shout out to Underbelly, for understanding our vision and programming both episodes on consecutive days, meaning, if you liked one and want to see the other — you can, the following day.
Is there anything you hope audiences take away from the shows?
At a time where there is so much divisive rhetoric and other-ing, I’d love the audience to see that we are more similar then we are different but it is in our difference where the magic lives. Making for a colourful society.
Nothing is ever quite what it seems. This show was made by a 1st gen immigrant girl who grew up in a council estate with little to no technical background or support when she first embarked on this journey 10 years ago.
