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Courtesy of Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, Singapore. Photo: Bernie Ng

Magic Maids

Eisa Jocson & Venuri Perera (Philippines & Sri Lanka)

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Details

When?

Sat 25 Oct 2025
5–6.20pm

Where?

Leeds School of Arts, Leeds Beckett University
City Campus, Portland Way, Leeds, LS1 3PB

What?

Performance, Dance

Prices

Pay What You Can £2–£35
Recommended price £25
Plus booking fees

Magic Maids interweaves performance, pageantry and possession.

This feral incantation connects the European witch hunts to the exploitation of migrant women’s labour today.

The female figures of the witch and the maid are powerful and powerless, feared and revered, used, accused and discarded. The tropes are not mere hearsay and history but deeply rooted in today’s psyche.

International artists Eisa Jocson and Venuri Perera have collected stories of migrant domestic workers from the so-called Global South, the echoes of which now haunt their bodies. In Magic Maids – the broom – a domestic cleaning tool, as well as the vehicle of the witch – becomes an extension of their body, that transforms oppression into feminist resistance.

The duo dance a ritual of disobedience.

Your Experience

What to expect

This is a seated performance within a theatre venue. The performance contains dance, movement and music.

Duration

80 mins

Age guidance

14+

Language

English

Content guidance

The performance uses salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. It also includes lighting effects and some loud noise (ear plugs will be available).

Getting here

Leeds School of Arts is located off Portland Way in central Leeds (the building is adjacent to the Leeds Civic Hall/Leeds General Infirmary). There will be signage displayed outside the building directing you to the theatre.

Access information

Step free access

There is step free access to the event and there are accessible toilets at the venue.

Seating

The tiered seating is high-backed.

Rest area

A rest area is available.

Open door policy

We have an open door policy across all shows at Transform, meaning ticket holders are welcome to come and go as they need.

More information

Head to Transform’s Access page for more information.

Credits

Performances at Transform 25 co-presented by Transform and Leeds School of Arts and supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the UK.

Produced by Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm. Co-produced by HAU Hebbel am Ufer, Frascati Producties (unterstützt durch Ammodo), Tanzquartier Wien, SPRING Performing Arts Festival, Festival Theaterformen, DDD – Festival Dias da Dança, Kampnagel, Arsenic – Centre d’art scénique contemporain, La briqueterie CDCN du Val-de-Marne, Points Communs – nouvelle scène nationale Cergy-Pontoise / Val d’Oise, Maillon, Théâtre de Strasbourg – Scène européenne and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Funded within the framework of the Alliance of International Production Houses supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and by the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art and Culture, Research, Science and the Arts. Supported by Ammondo, Kaserne Basel, Puón Institute Philippines, Goethe-Institut Sri Lanka, Dance Nucleus in collaboration with Studio Plesungan as part of ARTEFACT Creative Residency, Colomboscope Contemporary Art Festival 2024.

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