UNSHAMABLE
Emmanuelle Em
Friday 2 October 2026
7:30 PM
Lisbon
Truth · Body · Freedom
Emmanuelle Em
A performance unlike any other. A show about what no one talks about.
Truth without armour.
A night of laughter, tears, and profound remembrance. The journey of a woman who rediscovers the wisdom of her body, and the price of living a lifetime disconnected from it.
A story about the forgotten wisdom carried in women's bodies.
Watch the trailer
21 seconds · sound on
“I take you on my journey into the depths of my body.
Layer by layer, I undo shame, silence, and everything I was taught to be”Until I become UNSHAMABLE
Walking the fine line between shadow and light, embracing my imperfect humanity"
Ten years of therapy, in one hour. Come only if you're ready for your life to change!
If you're looking for inspiration to live more truthfully...Come.
Emmanuelle Em - 56 - On stage - Nothing left to hide - Nothing left to protect - Unfiltered
Not a performance. A lifetime, distilled into one hour.
At 48, Emmanuelle Em discovered what her body had known since childhood. For eight years, she searched for a way to speak about it. Not to accuse. Not to seek justice. But to free herself. And to open a path for every woman who has always known, somewhere deep inside, that something wasn't right... without ever having the words, the proof, or the permission to say it.
"This performance is the result of decades spent choosing truth over comfort."
A one-hour immersion where dance, theatre, music and humour become one language. You don't simply watch. You feel.
Nothing is performed for effect. Everything unfolds in real time.
Laughter and grief. Rage and tenderness. Because this is what being fully human looks like.
Emmanuelle Em doesn't hold back.
She says what is rarely said. She dances what words alone cannot express.
And somewhere in the room, something begins to shift.
"THE STORY IS NOT WHAT TRANSFORMS US. THE WAY WE MOVE THROUGH IS."
A healing performance
No more concepts. No more explanations. Only what the body has always known. Because the body always recognises the truth before the mind can explain it. Shame survives in silence. It dissolves when expression is witnessed. And then humour returns. Because laughter comes back when the wound stops bleeding…
You leave more alive than when you arrived.
"Nothing needs to be understood when it is felt."
WHAT WOMEN AND MEN SAID AFTER THE SHOW
“I can't describe what I saw. But what I know is that there are shows you forget quickly - this one, I'll remember.”
“And yes, as women, we can get mad, we can say no, we can express ourselves in a big way - and that's okay, because it's absolutely beautiful. ”
“This show is going to have a huge impact. I'm sure many women will leave their relationships, quit their jobs, change their lives.”
“I loved the anger, the intensity. I want much more of that in my life.”
“It was very intimate, what you shared with us. I didn't know where it was going, and it was very special to see it unfold.”
“I saw my mom, my sister, my grandmother. And I saw me! You kept morphing into different women. I felt - wow, what a powerful woman. And what a beautiful thing it is to be a woman.”
Statement of intent
"I carry my voice completely. Without softening it. Without protecting anyone. Finally."
Mine is not only a personal voice.
It carries generations of women who learnt that silence was safer than truth.
Who protected everyone but themselves.
This performance is an act of liberation.
To reveal what remains hidden.
To make the invisible visible.
To give shape to what so many have felt, yet never found words for.
Some wounds end with us. Others become art.
THE ART OF FEELING ALIVE BODY, ART, TRUTH, PLEASURE AND PLAY BECOME WAYS OF COMING BACK TO YOURSELF.
“Mamma Emmanuelle, truth seeer, energy feeler, healer, inspiration, fantastic presence when you are lucky enough to be in her space, the boss witch !”
The artist
Emmanuelle Em
56 years old. White hair. No filter.
Former professional dancer and choreographer. Her work explores intimacy with the body, truth and human connection.
Emmanuelle Em is an artist, healer, and somatic dance therapist. She is the founder of a dance school that has brought together more than 700 dancers. With an MBA (ESSEC, Paris) and certifications in trauma-informed coaching and facilitation, she specialises in group and relationship dynamics.
It took her 50 years to leave behind a world that taught her not to trust what she felt. This performance is what came after.
This is not the story of what happened to her.
It is the art that came out of it.
For presenters and programmers
Format
- Runtime
- ~1 hour
- On stage
- Emmanuelle Em
- Creative midwife
- Laura Gonçalves
- First witnesses
- Clara Stewart - Marine Azria - Yann Henric - Jean-Luc Paulhe
- Language
- English - can also be performed in French
- Capacity
- Any configuration - from pocket theater to mid-size venue
- Technical needs
- Sound · simple lighting · clear stage space · full tech rider available on request
- Premiere
- 2 October 2026
- Availability
- To be discussed
This show can also open the door to the "Become Unshamable retreat" - a 1- or 2-day format facilitated by Emmanuelle Em.
Sample retreat structure
Evening before
UNSHAMABLE the performance
Day 1
A facilitated space for movement, words, music, connection and authentic sharing. Bringing the theatre experience into participants' own bodies and lives.
Day 2
An optional continuation for deeper exploration, expression and play. Integration and shared creative practice.