Awa’s Journey

A few months ago, back in August, I was invited to take pictures of a small, multi-media theatre collaboration between award-winning playwright Beverly Andrews, Union Dance, BAFTA nominated Dan Saul, and Africa Express musician Mosi Conde. Hosted by twice Turner Prize nominee Yinka Shonibare as a Guest Project, right on the doorstep of Regents Canal, a team of hard-working talent, decided it was time to talk about it.

Awa’s Journey is an endearing play that deals with one of the most apt issues of our time; the refugee crisis in Europe. Set across two different time frames; one set during the reign of King James I, and the other, our most current age, the twenty-first century, this play tells the tale of two parallel characters, portrayed in opposite perspectives.

The play starts off with a refugee called Awa, sitting across an immigration officer in the U.K., a video camera projecting her face across the wall behind the desk, as she pleads with him to believe her reasons for seeking asylum. Sceptical at first, we soon learn the officer isn’t quite ready to let this case go; there is something honest and compelling about her story.

As the play progresses, we learn more and more about Awa’s journey; how she made it onto the boat, the conditions she endured through courageously fleeing her country, and how the promises made to her by strangers were swiftly broken upon arrival. Though the content is heavy and heartfelt at times, this is offset by the humour introduced in the second story, which continues to intertwine at points where it is most needed.

Almost the inverse of the current tale, this one takes place during the 17th century during a time when many African countries were ruled by monarchy, quite well off, and keen to build relations with the West. So instead of a story about the British Empire traipsing in with their Christian doctrines and exploitative agendas, we soon discover a lighthearted love story between one of the King’s men, Sir William, and a Malian Princess, also named Awa, who travels to England with good intent. This story plays an important role in that it compares both cultures, clasps onto their clashes, and then uses them as a means to celebrate diversity. A key role in this is Awa’s maid, Kadi, whose facial expressions and wit bring a breath of fresh air to a controversial topic.

Branded as a multi-media piece, Awa’s Journey cleverly incorporates image projections of people displaced by war, alongside heroic revolutionaries, delicately composed instrumental music, including the much-loved West African instrument, the Kora, and combined with beautifully expressive dance. At moments, the dance can seem a little long, but it is clear how the choreography matches the themes in the play, and when combined with the music, is most mesmerising.

Without revealing the profound way the two stories come together at the end, Awa’s Journey is a true testament of our times. It shows that dialogue and humour are the only ways to bring humanity back to a situation whose political agendas aim to estrange us all. This was evident towards the end of the play when there was a Q&A with a Syrian human rights activist, Ghias Aljundi, and Rohan Jayasekera, the former CEO of Index on Censorship. The experiences given by these two individuals brought the real life element back to the stage. Ghias spoke of his trips to the shores and refugee camps in Greece and the stories he heard from mothers and children who made it. He informed us of how the current EU policies make it very difficult for charities to help. For example, he mentioned that in January 2016, a new law had been passed stating that if one stepped into the water to help people off of the boats, they would be accused of acting along with the smugglers, which could end in a sentence if they were caught. He claimed that this was why only small charities were seen in Greece; larger, more renowned charities had washed their hands of the situation.