This September, London’s outdoor spaces become unexpected stages, where dance and poetry meet in the open air and strangers gather for a fleeting moment of connection. In Fragments of Us, five performers transform General Gordon Square into a place where stories are gifted, vulnerability is shared, and fragments of life are pieced together with community.
From 4–6 September 2025, Fragments of Us comes to Woolwich and Stratford as part of the Greenwich Docklands International Festival (GDIF). Co-commissioned by Talawa and GDIF, and created by FUBUNATION with writer Sonia Hughes, the work is both intimate and expansive – a performance designed to be encountered in the everyday and offered freely.
At its centre are five Black boys and men, each threading their stories into a wider tapestry that celebrates the endless possibilities of Black masculinity. Their journey begins fragmented: masked, divided by barriers, scattered across the city. Gradually, they find one another. Playfulness surfaces, delight bubbles through, and the performers step into dialogue with those around them – the audience – drawing individuals into encounters as spontaneous as the streets they unfold in.
Dance and spoken word intertwine, revealing glimpses of joy, struggle, and chosen tenderness while exploring collective history and identity. The performance is fluid, shifting between the personal and the communal. At moments, the performers are alone; at others, the five move as a rippling group, weaving intricate formations and creating striking tableaux that open into procession. Their individual stories layer into a larger picture – one of resilience, presence, and shared experience.
Audiences gather on the stone and grass of General Gordon Square, alive with atmosphere. A score of rhythmic beats and poetry underpins the movement. Vulnerability here is shown as strength: the willingness to offer fragments of one’s story, to support one another, and to gently hold the pieces shared by others.
Fragments of Us has already drawn large audiences of all ages captivated by its immediacy and beauty. For some, it is a surprise encounter. For others, a deliberate congregation. For all, it leaves behind something resonant – an act of remembrance.
Evocative and moving, Fragments of Us reminds us that when fragments are shared, they might become something whole.
Performance dates:
Thursday 4 September – 4pm & 6:30pm – General Gordon Square, Woolwich, SE18 6FH
Saturday 6 September – 1pm & 3:20pm – Theatre Square Rooftop, Stratford, E15 1BX
More information: https://www.talawa.com/productions/fragments-of-us-gdif