The culinary migrant

Food, theatre and music come together to tell the story of the migration of the humble aubergine, reflected within the context of migration. Adam Brimmer interviews Claron Mcfadden, the brains behind the Nightshade: Aubergine series.

How was the concept for Nightshade: Aubergine series born?

Many years ago I spent the day with the family of a dear friend with Jewish/Yemenite roots. His mother and I couldn’t communicate with words, but I could understand her stories and songs on another level.

She cooked traditional dishes and the whole family ate and sang together. When I left, she hugged me and said that I was always welcome and words are not necessary because we communicate with the heart. This is actually where it began.

Why did you pick the aubergine in particular?

I wanted to try to recreate this feeling of cooking and sharing and, since I adore Mediterranean cuisine, it was an easy choice to make a culinary/musical ‘road trip’ here. I find the aubergine such an iconic fruit (this was a discovery), with a rich and mysterious history spanning millennia.

When I learnt that its origins are actually Oriental and that it travelled along the Silk Road to settle in the...