IMAGINE being imprisoned, tortured or executed for being in love.

That is the reality for some of those seeking asylum in the UK, even it means entering the UK illegally.

LGBT+ people face persecution in numerous countries which is why some of them are prepared to get to the UK by whatever means necessary.

Ice and Fire Theatre Company, which explores human rights stories through performance, is bringing first-hand accounts of LGBT+ people seeking asylum in the UK to Bolton next month.

This Is Who I Am will be performed at the Friends’ Meeting House, Silverwell Street, Bolton, at 7.30pm on September 18, as part of Bolton Pride 2018 Fringe.

Read by members of the Actors For Human Rights Network, you will be able to hear about the experiences of those seeking asylum and the particular challenges they face.

Recalling their own experience, one contributor says: “They separated us. We tried to say no, we applied for asylum as a couple. They say we don’t have any civil evidence that we are a couple.

“And we’re like – how can we show you any civil evidence if homosexuality is forbidden in my country?”

The monologues simply but powerfully illustrate the pain, hurdles and humiliation they encounter and are given an unadorned reading.

The accounts speak for themselves and allow a light to be shone on the plight of a particular group of refugees that are ignored or met with incomprehension or minimisation of what they go through.