A peek inside the rehearsals for From Here On
9 September 2024, article
Theatre companies Gecko and Good Chance are working on a special project in Amare: during the International Day of Peace, they will perform a short performance together with residents of The Hague about the importance of safety for children during war. We visited the rehearsals in our studio and asked the directors, Vivian Luk and Saju Hari, to tell us more.
Could you tell us a little bit about what From Here On is about?
“From Here On is a project fundamentally about highlighting the importance of securing safe passage for child refugees. Children get caught up in war as well as civil unrest in many parts of the world through no fault of their own.
85 years ago, just before the second world war broke out, nearly 10,000 jewish children were transported to the UK from families suffering persecution in Nazi-occupied Europe. This was known as the Kindertransport and was achieved through the hard work and determination of many good people ensuring safe passage to those children to the UK.
Good Chance and Gecko’s From Here On is a physical theatre performance project that aims to tell these stories.”
From Here On is a project stretching amongst many spaces in the UK and Europe. Is every time you create this performance together with a new group different?
“From Here On is happening across the Kindertransport route: Berlin, The Hague, Harwich and London, as well as in Dover, a significant site in relation to contemporary experiences of migration to the UK. In Berlin we are hosting a residency with local school groups; in Dover we have created a film with a collective of young people who have recently arrived to the UK as refugees and asylum seekers; and in Harwich and London Gecko’s professional performer ensemble perform alongside a huge group of local young people in large-scale, outdoor public performances.
In The Hague we were inspired by stories of Dutch women sharing their love and care towards the children as the trains arrived, and will create an intergenerational performance.
In each place we’re working with local young people, who may also have connections to other parts of the world through their family or individual history of migration. As a result, each of the performances will feel unique to the participants that have made it happen.”
How have the rehearsals in The Hague been going so far? What have you been working towards with the group?
Vivian: “The process has been inspiring and fruitful. The combination of having young people and adults working on the project has brought diverse textures and qualities to the creation process.”
Saju: “We always start the day preparing or warming up like how we normally do at our Gecko work environment. Through games and breathing exercises we aim to warm our body up and connect with one another.”
Vivian: “In these exercises we share our usual style and devising methods, and encourage our new performers to explore and experience the connections between physical expressions and emotions.”
Saju: “And when we feel ready we start creating little scenes reflecting on the themes that we want to explore in a collaborative way. We are lucky to have people who speak so many different languages in the room.”
What is special about this group of residents from The Hague so far? What is their contribution to the performance?
Vivian: “The group from The Hague is a combination of 5 young people and 4 adults. It’s an intimate group which has created an uplifting working atmosphere where the sense of community, openness and engagement is strong. Their trust and commitment have brought the history and stories alive.”
Saju: “This group is very special for so many different reasons. First of all this is a very open hearted bunch of human beings who are really keen to learn and explore. The work is half done when you have such nice energy in the room. As we are creating in a collaborative way, their input is most important and we are there to guide and steer the process.”
What is your background and your role in the performance? Why is From Here On important to you?
Saju: “I am fundamentally a contemporary dancer and a choreographer. I have been working with Gecko for about 5 years now and I have been on a learning curve in the physical theatre world!
From Here On is very important to me as I have never seen such care being given to a project before. It is led by two companies, Good Chance and Gecko, both of whom care hugely about the stories of refugees and migrants throughout human history.
To tell the story of child refugees, we are working with a large number of children and for that reason this project is most beautiful at the same time it can be fragile as well. An enormous amount of work and care has gone behind it that I have never experienced before, so this project is very special.”
Vivian: “I was professionally trained in contemporary dance, and I’m now a devising performer and facilitator with Gecko. In this project, I act as a director assisting to coach and create the performance.
From Here On has an incredibly important value to me as this is a reminder of not only what happened in the past, but how it is relevant to the present and future. We should never forget the past, and we should strive to build a brighter future together.”
What can we expect on 21 September in Amare?
Saju: “On the 21st September we will perform around 25 minutes of physical theatre exploring these stories of migration that will hopefully make the audience think, 'have we learned anything from history?'”
Vivian: “Reflections. Emotions. A poetic experience.”
From Here On in Amare
Day of Peace in Amare
