TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .
An article from Culturebox , France Info (translated by CPNN)
The actors are Sudanese, Afghans and Iraqis and a few weeks ago they lived in the “jungle of Calais.” This is where they made their debut as actors by attending a theater workshop. From this work was born a play, “To be or not”, the poignant narrative of their long and dangerous journey to Europe, a play that, they hope, will change the outlook of people on migrants
Video of the theater
There was a lot of emotion that evening in this small room in Montreuil. Some spectators held back their tears. Facing them on stage were a dozen young men, refugees who have just played in their first theatrical play. The history of their lives, the history of their flight to Europe, and all the dangers they faced in hoping to have a better life.
Ignorance and fear
After months spent in the “jungle of Calais,” these men are accommodated in a reception and orientation center in Croisille near Arras. They have been able to continue the theater workshops begun in Calais with two young directors.
From this collaboration was born this spectacle where the apprentice actors replay their journey, including how they crossed the Mediterranean, piled up for several days on boats too small, without water and without food, with the constant fear of capsizing like thousands of others before them.
War, exile, the omnipresence of death, and at the end of the road, another obstacle, as Bertrand Degrémont says very well, our ignorance and our fears. By telling their story, sharing it, they hope to erase, a little, these fears, and change the outlook of the people on the refugees.
(Thank you to Kiki Chauvin, the CPNN reporter for this article)
(Click here for the original French version of this article)