In Flux

Over 2016 and into 2017 we worked with the University of Nottingham’s Hidden Histories project and the Red Cross, to create a small scale touring show that examined the history of borders in the Middle East and the impact of their recent dissolution.

The show was performed by a cast of those who have found themselves moving to Nottingham from countries in that part of the world – from Iran, Bakur (Turkish Kurdistan) and from Syria. Using large scale projections and live music throughout it interweaved three monologues – the history of the secretive Sykes Picot agreement which led to the creation of Iraq and Transjordan (and which is still hotly contested in Kurdistan); the story of a Kurdish woman whose sisters all live in one nation and yet are separated by three borders; and the story of a young man (Adel, telling his own story) who travelled from the Golan Heights to Nottingham via the Sahara Desert, the Mediterranean, and the Jungle at Calais.

Proceeds from the performances of the show were used to buy guitars so that the Red Cross could offer music lessons, or lend the instruments, to those who have come to Nottingham seeking refuge.