As some of you know, I was in Kosovo recently at an event exploring theatre in places of conflict, and the role of National Theatres. I met some great people with exciting things to say, from all over the world. One of the presentations was by Alison Jeffers, a theatre academic originally from Belfast. She talked about what a National Theatre could mean when you are not quite from any one place - not quite British, not quite Irish. She compared her cultural experience with that of the 15 million refugees in the world who are moving from one home to another. She suggested that she and many other people are 'ish', not in the sense that we say 'British' or 'Irish' but in the sense that we say 'blue-ish' or 'warm-ish' - kind of almost, but not quite something. She proposed the lovely, lively idea of the 'National Theatre of Ish'. Alison was kind enough to send me a copy of her paper and I've attached it here: The National Theatre of Ish.doc.