Voila! Festival Interview: Briana Croitoru

Briana Croitoru talks to Red Bus Londinium about her one-woman show: My Mother Tongue Wants to Disown ME

Briana Croitoru’s one-woman show My Mother Wants to Disown me follows Mădălina, a Romanian girl in London who changes her name and speaks only English, until a heated row with her mum sends her to her mother’s letters, diary entries and photos. Croitoru tells Red Bus Londinium that much of it comes from her own experience of bilingualism and of being complimented on an English that hides where she is from. Directed by Saphira Wing, it plays Etcetera Theatre as part of the Voila! Theatre Festival.

Red Bus: The title is a wonderful line. Where did it come from, and was there a particular moment that made you want to write this show?

Briana Croitoru: The title comes from the specific experience of what it’s like losing your mother tongue after moving to a different country. The moment when you realize you aren’t dreaming, thinking or able to express complicated points in what is supposed to be your first language. It is also the experience of feeling like your own culture doesn’t want you or you don’t fit in to it like you used to.

Moments that made me want to write this play is the frustration of being bilingual and the embarrassment or disappointment you can feel when people witness you speaking a very broken version of your mother language. When people often compliment my English or the fact that I don’t have an accent it always interests me because am I supposed to be proud you can’t hear where I’m from? Why do I feel glad? Recently the concept that someone wouldn’t know I was Romanian makes me sad.

Red Bus: Mădălina changes her name and stops speaking Romanian. How much of her story is yours, and where did you let the character go somewhere you did not?

Briana Croitoru: A lot of the story isn’t mine maybe because I have a name that although people do spell or pronounce wrong; it does not sound necessarily Romanian. But like the character I have opted for nicknames that make my name easier to say. I went to international schools in my early life where diversity was often encouraged but I wanted to explore what it would be like if someone was in an environment where the culture shock was big and felt the pressure to blend in very strongly. A lot of the comments, stereotypes or uncomfortable situations are things I experienced but I wanted to explore how Mădălina deals with it very differently by trying to distance herself from her culture. Although I dealt with the frustration of not speaking Romanian well I always liked speaking Romanian at home as it often felt like a secret language I could speak with my family.

Red Bus: Does the show use Romanian on stage? If so, how did you make sure an audience who do not speak it are still carried along, and what do you hope they feel in those moments?

Briana Croitoru: The show does use Romanian and a lot of meaning is conveyed through tone but also because a lot of times the mum in the play speaks Romanian and Mădălina replies in English the context is understood if she repeats the most important words her mum says. I also think it is quite interesting for audience members to experience what it often is like to be in an environment where you don’t know the language and having to use context clues to understand. I hope the audience feel the nuance of how Mădălina’s character is different when speaking English as opposed to Romanian and how certain words in the language are imbued with feelings of nostalgia for the character.

Red Bus: Mădălina finds her mum’s letters, diary entries and photos. In a one-woman show, how do you bring the mother into the room when you are the only person on stage, and what did Saphira Wing bring to that as director?

Briana Croitoru: The character of the mum is very present through her grounded physicality and what is described to be her Eastern European stare which can be quite scary at times. Playing her in a solo show is difficult especially in an argument scene but Saphira Wing brought a lot of stylistic choices such as making her an all surrounding presence at times, making sure eyeliner are sharp and differentiating vocally and physically. She also emphasized a lot how both characters need to be impacted by each other for tensions to rise or vulnerabilities to come out which can be challenging in a one woman play.

Red Bus: What would you like someone from an immigrant family to take away from the hour? And what about an audience member who has never felt caught between two languages?

Briana Croitoru: I would like them to take away that it is okay to struggle with not being fully connected to their cultural identity and never feeling fully at home. I think finding pockets of home whether it is in eating traditional food or spending time with the friends that really see you is important. Not letting stereotypes or xenophobic comments dictate how you should feel about your home country is something that the play really grapples with and I hope emphasizes how important it is to combat.

For audience members who have never been caught between two languages I hope it motivates them to want to learn another language and take part in the struggle of being bilingual! On a more serious note I think feeling stuck between identities or places to call home or not being who their parents expected them to be is quite a common experience so I hope they still relate.

But I do hope it also makes people more aware how important it is to be interested and learn about other peoples cultures instead of succumbing to cliches or assumptions drawn through popular media.

Booking Details

Show: My Mother Tongue Wants to Disown Me
Venue: Etcetera Theatre, 265 Camden High Street (above the Oxford Arms), London NW1 7BU
Dates and times: Monday 2 November at 5pm, Tuesday 3 November at 5pm, Wednesday 4 November at 9pm 2026
Running time: 60 minutes
Content warnings: Swearing, alcohol and death
Festival: Voila! Theatre Festival 2026
Book tickets: https://www.voilafestival.co.uk/events/my-mother-tongue-wants-to-disown-me/

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