Journeys in a New Homeland

Journeys in a New Homeland

My introduction to the Association for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Poland came in the form of an eventful friday evening spent rehearsing for the upcoming production of ‘Journeys in a new Homeland’. The whole cast (including recent additions such as myself) were packed into the office of the association to run through the complete play. The script follows a journey which starts somewhere in Africa, accompanied by the sounds of the thumb piano and drums; through the scenes depicting characters from other parts of the world, involving other musical influences; to the emotional conclusion in which the pressure and strains of attempting to draw together the threads of her previous life and re-establish herself culminate in the lead character N’dolo N’juma’s insanity.

From the beginning I was impressed by the main characters’ enthusiasm for their roles; their energy and conviction was apparent even from that first run-through. As I followed the rehearsals and became more involved in the production myself, it was fascinating to watch how the characters evolved and how actors deepend their understanding of their roles as well as their lines. By the time came for curtain-up, we had rehearsed nearly every evening for the preceding week, we were in the newspaper and on the radio, and an eager crowd had assembled in the opera room of the Victoria Hotel to watch.

The performance was a great success. The audience’s attention moved from the beginnings of conflict between the two leading musicians in N’dolo N’juma’s homeland to her children’s abductions and an escalation of violence which prompts her fleeing. The hostility of her arrival in Europe was demonstrated in many ways. For example through the language barrier which leads to a miscommunication that almost snatches away N’dolo N’juma’s chance for a new life. The audience was shown the process of seeking asylum from a refugee’s eyes, thorugh a script that moves from being exceedingly funny at points to heartbreakingly sad at others. All this was accompanied by African drumming, European classical violin and Eastern guitar.

We played to a mixed audience of Polish and English speakers and everyone praised our achievements. Despite the play running for double the expected amount of time, the audience stayed seated until the very end and crowded backstage to congratulate the cast afterwards, even asking for autographs!

‘Journeys in a New Homeland’ was a valuable opportunity to educate people about the kinds of stories asylum seekers and refugees at the association have lived through. As well as raising awareness about the kinds of problems that so many people have lived through, it also clearly demonstrated the artistic capabilities of so many people involved with the association.

posted by Becca @ 12:52 am