Following the very successful presentation of Journeys of Arriving, Belonging and Becoming for World Refugee Day at Victoria’s City Hall antechamber, the creators of this interactive theatre performance are set to remount the production on the campus of the University of Victoria for a free event on Thursday.
“We had an incredible response from the audiences at our performance earlier this week and were requested by our partners at UVic to present it once again,” says the Nigerian-born director Taiwo Okunola Afolabi who is a PhD candidate in Applied Theatre at the Department of Theatre. “Presenting it on the eve of Canada’s 150 celebrations will hopefully bring more perspectives and reflections to the discussion of migration and displacement.”
The play critically explores newcomers, immigrants and refugees’ narratives of relocation, resilience, settlement, and integration. The actors are youth – many of them UVic Theatre students – from various ethnic and culturally diverse backgrounds. The performers will draw on their experiences from Syria, Israel, the Soviet Union, Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Nigeria, Canada, and their new lives in Victoria, to share stories of their migration, immigrating, and settlement. Following the performance is a talkback session for audiences to engage in the conversation.
“It’s not just the stories of refugees alone, but we’re exploring stories around migrants and newcomers and their experiences of what they face when they get here: stories around identity, culture, place in society,” said Afolabi, whose doctoral thesis studies how theatre can give a creative outlet to displaced people. “Beyond that is the role that Victoria plays in accommodating refugees and newcomers.”
Applied Theatre is the use of theatre and drama skills for the purposes of teaching, bringing about social change and building a sense of community. UVic’s program is recognized around the world for its innovative applied theatre projects including a field school in India and exchange programs in Thailand.
The artistic team includes of Annie Konstantinova, Jasmine Li, Megan Chandler, Olivia Wheeler, Samer Alkhateb, Thiptawan Uchai, Tianxu Zhao and Victoria Stark. This production is presented in partnership with the Office of the Vice President Academic and Provost; Associate Vice-President, Student Affairs, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Theatre; the Centre for Global Studies; the Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives; UVic Equity and Human Rights Office; the UVic Learning and Teaching Centre and the AVP Student Affairs.
The performance is June 29 at 2 p.m. in the grass area in front of McPherson Library at UVic.