Theatre-Rites with Agudo Dance Company, have created an exciting new production as part of London Borough of Culture in Croydon. Journey of a Refugee is a powerful and moving theatre production that explores the journey and arrival of a refugee and the universal theme of people searching for a place they can call home. Journey of a Refugee will be a beautiful blend of puppetry and performance for both school and family audiences and will be supported by a comprehensive workshop programme. Journey of a Refugee is showing at Stanley Arts, London, from 3 – 18 February.
Dr Sue Buckmaster is the director of Journey of a Refugee, the Artistic Director of Theatre-Rites, a puppetry expert, and the fifth generation of theatre practitioners in her family.
What inspired Journey of a Refugee?
The journey of artistic research and development started for me 8 years ago. I was talking with the Ruhrtriennale Festival in Germany about making a piece of work inspired by the welcoming of Syrian refugees in Germany, and at the same time I was in discussion with Manchester International Festival about creating a site-specific show to reflect on the narrative accompanying the Brexit vote that asylum seekers were an unwelcome burden on the UK. Both these productions happened with the title The Welcoming Party. Since then I have been in communication with several asylum seekers, refugee organisations and artists committed to this area of work. In particular I have stayed in contact with Mohamed Sarrar who was the starting point of our performance in Manchester. He arrived in the UK 8 years ago from Sudan and has remained to tell his story and make beautiful contributions to the arts scene. Theatre-Rites has always wanted to create an immersive experience in Croydon as it is the place where many child refugees are sent to get their asylum requests assessed. When Croydon became the London Borough of Culture it felt like a natural progression of ideas to join forces with Croydon based Agudo Dance Company and Stanley Arts to create a new production. When Mohamed agreed to retell his story again and Adi, a 20-year-old refugee from Ethiopia who arrived in the UK 3 years ago as a minor, applied to take part too, the current project Journey of a Refugee was ignited.
Can you tell us a little about the story of Journey of a Refugee?
Journey of a Refugee is an immersive experience for the audience which encourages them to be part of a local welcoming party in Croydon for those seeking asylum. In the show no refugees turn up. What grows out of this is the re-telling of Mohamed’s difficult journey and his challenging experience of the UK system. He explains that 8 years ago it was already so hard for him and others to make the journey, and how today the hurdles placed on those seeking permission to come to the UK are restricting arrivals and forcing even more young people to risk their lives to come to find safety. The audience are given a chance to hear and reflect on the lives of those who are seeking to remain in the UK and make it their home. It is a humble attempt to humanise these experiences that are so often dehumanised, particularly in current times.
How did you conduct your research surrounding the show?
Over the last 8 years we have met, discussed, played with and been inspired by a number of asylum seekers, sons and daughters of previous asylum seekers, refugee organisations and artists committed to this area of work. For this project Agudo Dance has run workshops in Croydon schools and asylum seeker youth groups in order to explore and reflect on the experience young people have of the current situation.
How do the immersive elements help to get across the message of the show to audiences of all ages?
The show begins with the audience as an active member of the welcoming party. As the performance progresses, the audience can feel close to Mohamed and his group of friends who attempt to re-tell his story with whatever props they can find. More and more the audience get caught up in the journey Mohamed went on, particularly as he enters the UK asylum system, which the audience experience directly through interactive elements in the show. The promenade aspect to the production, the close proximity of the professional performers, the evocation of the atmosphere and landscape through lighting and music and the interactive elements all help the audience have a magical, empowering, sensitive and eye-opening experience.
Why use puppets as part of the storytelling? What purpose do they serve that an actor can’t?
This show is aimed at anyone over 8. It therefore needs to be gentle with its politics, inspired by human resourcefulness and magical in its telling. We learn through play rather than didactic teaching or ranting. This show is a playful visit to the trickier aspects of our lives. It enables children to practice having emotional and political responses to subjects that will continue to impact their lives.
Using puppets and objects can be a useful tool when wanting to create magic realism. They provide poetic metaphors rather than confrontational dialogue. They allow visual elaborations which are open to projection and interpretation from an audience regardless of their age and in respect of their own experience, or lack of it.
Why should audiences come to see the show?
Because it will be fun, moving, magical, immersive, playful, thought-provoking, inspiring and take a small step to encouraging a more welcoming atmosphere in the UK to those seeking to make it their home.
Get your tickets here.