The Arts Center at NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) is set to draw its audience into a fragile miniature world, allowing them to contemplate a gripping story of lost refugee children in dangerous lands, through Flight by Scottish theater company, Vox Motus. Based on the book Hinterland by Caroline Brothers and adapted by Oliver Emanuel, the theater experience will take place from Thursday, September 12 to Saturday, September 21 in The Black Box at The Arts Center.
Flight portrays the migration story of young refugees, in which two orphaned Afghan brothers embark on a desperate odyssey to freedom and safety. The piece depicts an epic journey across Europe, in a heart-wrenching tale of terror, hope, and survival.
Directed by Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison (Illusion and Magic Designer for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Flight mixes graphic novel with exquisite diorama and audioplay, combining unsettling themes with mesmerizing images. Each member of the audience will be seated individually in a personal booth, where they will watch the action unfold on images and models moving slowly in front of them, with speech and music conveyed through headphones. The performance is limited to 25 people per performance and is recommended for ages 16+ due to mature themes.
Bill Bragin, Executive Artistic Director of The Arts Center, explained, “When I first experienced Flight myself, I was deeply moved by the compelling story. It’s important that art opens conversations about the world we live in, and during the Year of Tolerance, creating greater empathy for the plight of vulnerable refugees seems especially important. I was also struck by the form of the piece. Like Tania elKhoury’s Gardens Speak in a previous season, Flight creates its own storytelling form, one that I had never seen before, as a way to convey its harrowing story to audiences in a powerfully intimate way.” He added, “I’m especially pleased that we were able to work with so many colleagues across the NYU Abu Dhabi campus, to integrate this piece into the educational experience of so many students, including having all the incoming freshmen read and discuss the source material, Caroline Brothers’ novel Hinterland, as an integral part of their first year experience.”
In keeping with its mission, The Arts Center is taking Flight beyond just a performance, through a number of Off The Stage activities in collaboration with the wider NYUAD community, as well as numerous interactions with University classes. In partnership with the NYUAD Institute on Tuesday, September 10, author Caroline Brothers will give a talk entitled Storytelling for a Jaded World in which the author will share her experience transforming her journalism to the form of a novel, and then into a theater piece. Brothers will also lead a workshop on Docufiction Writing on Wednesday, September 11. The workshop will provide developing writers with an enriching experience, during which they will explore the use of documentary techniques in the research, conceptualization, and writing of fiction. Additionally Vox Motus director Candice Edmunds will conduct a workshop entitled The Theater-makers’ Journey on Friday, September 13, where she will lead developing theater artists through a series of games and exercises that explore storytelling through imagery and stage visuals, as opposed to text and dialogue. Through discussion, participants will explore their own journey into theater-making and the formative experiences that ignite their creative practice.
For more information on Flight performance and ticket availability, please click here.
Those interested in attending the Docufiction Writing workshop, should request an invitation here.
Those interested in attending The Theater-maker’s Journey workshop, should request an invitation here.
Those interested in attending Storytelling for a Jaded World: Conversation with Caroline Brothers talk, please sign up here.
The Arts Center at NYUAD is a performing arts center that presents distinguished professional artists from around the world alongside student, faculty, and community productions.
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