SWIM

It is 8 kilometres from Güzelçamli, Turkey to the Greek island of Samos, or 160 lengths of an Olympic-sized swimming pool. That’s the distance many must swim in search of asylum in Europe. SWIM is an immersive sensorial experience that imagines the physical, mental and spiritual challenges of this treacherous passage as it meditates upon the emotional toll of displacement. Harnessing cutting-edge technologies to simulate audio and tactile sensations, the audience experiences much of the piece in darkness.

Drawing loose inspiration from the epic Arabic story of Laila and Majnun, SWIM invites audiences to imagine what feelings one moves through as they endure the fatigue of this perilous crossing. It meditates on the question: When one is driven to leave their love, their life, their home — what parts of oneself and one’s old life must be sacrificed in pursuit of a new beginning?

SWIM is a PuSh Festival commission.

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