The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2023 - Issue 34

bitetheatre Artistic Director Kate Prince MBE felt compelled to tell migrant stories after being inspired by Rania Mustafa Ali’s documented film story Escape from Syria : Rania’s Odyssey, where the then 20-year-old fled from war-torn Syria across 3,000 km of inhospitable Middle East, Turkey and Southeastern Europe. “This story is universal,” Rania factually stated with reflections on how “dismissive people can be of refugees in the lowest point of (their) lives” despite the dire plight they take to search for freedom and home safety. “Cities are still under siege, and the lives of young people have been stolen. It is our duty not to forget.” Sally Howard from The Sunday Times highlighted humanity’s general inaction to these stories. And I agree with Sally’s ob- servation that “dance, in particular, (has) the potential to conjure the enervating, embodied experience of forced migration.” There is something about the universal language of dance that can convey paragraphs of words in descriptive, intended movements. It is more than body language and more than mere words. Dance performances like this grasp hold of emotions and keep them suspended above the stage as the performance plays out, only to release them into your soul to have their dance play out with your thoughts as you deeply consider what you have just experienced. A good dance like this can echo our internal heartbeats and have us feel something. As joint choreographers, the performance creative team of Kate Prince, Lukas McFarlane and Lizzie Gough made excellent performative choices to express and impact the plight of the sto- ry. And who better to have this heart-rending story performed than composer, singer-song- writer, actor, author and activist Sting CBE! This performance featuring 28 of his songs is more than a story; it is a treat of golden oldies and a few not so known. For me, this vital message to our world was formed and created by the right people at Zoo Nation: Kate Prince Company and Sting with the support and uplift of Sadler's Wells/Peacock Theatre. Each appears to give a damn about today's plights and circumstances when it comes to forced migration, asylum seeking and refugee statuses, which I feel is easily overlooked because of its indirectness to most of our lives. To words of hope, the ensemble danced against the injustices of this world. Given that the tour will return to London, I am ecstatic because this performance deserves more than one watch. Here's hoping if you didn't catch it in the first run, you will next time. Check out their website for what Sadler's Wells and Peacock Theatre offer this season. www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on Photography by Lynn Theisen