NOW Magazine
SEEKING REFUGE by Rick Jones (Thick and Thin Theatre). At Randolph Theatre. July 9 at 3 pm, July 11 at 9 pm, July 13 at 7 pm, July 14 at 4 pm, July 16 at 5:15 pm. See listing. Rating: NNNN
This dark and disturbing new musical (and winner of the Paul O’Sullivan Prize for best new musical script) contrasts the experiences of two Syrian sisters separated by the on-going civil war and refugee crisis.
With their home destroyed and parents dead, Mara (Liana Bdewi) manages to get her younger sister Saleet (Trisha Talreja) on a boat to an uncertain future overseas, but in exchange must become a servant (and sex slave) to military leader Tobim (Nabil Ayoub).
The emotional action alternates between Saleet’s long journey through unwelcoming foreign countries, crowded refugee camps, and the labyrinth-like immigration system – during which she meets and falls in love with fellow escapee Manu (Noah Beemer) – and Mara’s brutal treatment back home by militants now considered terrorists.
The songs, performed with piano accompaniment, are appropriately brooding and operatic, capturing the anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and horror central to the wartime-civilian and refugee experience. Writer Rick Jones and director Barbara Larose create loads of suspense in tense scenes at boarder check-points, airports, and courtrooms, but also present sweet moments of altruism, compassion, love and hope.
As it is, this pretty bare-bones production would definitely play better on a stage smaller than the cavernous Randolph, but the strength of both the material and the performances shines through, making a compelling case for an expanded and enhanced remount in the future.
SEEKING REFUGE by Rick Jones (Thick and Thin Theatre). At Randolph Theatre. July 9 at 3 pm, July 11 at 9 pm, July 13 at 7 pm, July 14 at 4 pm, July 16 at 5:15 pm. See listing. Rating: NNNN
This dark and disturbing new musical (and winner of the Paul O’Sullivan Prize for best new musical script) contrasts the experiences of two Syrian sisters separated by the on-going civil war and refugee crisis.
With their home destroyed and parents dead, Mara (Liana Bdewi) manages to get her younger sister Saleet (Trisha Talreja) on a boat to an uncertain future overseas, but in exchange must become a servant (and sex slave) to military leader Tobim (Nabil Ayoub).
The emotional action alternates between Saleet’s long journey through unwelcoming foreign countries, crowded refugee camps, and the labyrinth-like immigration system – during which she meets and falls in love with fellow escapee Manu (Noah Beemer) – and Mara’s brutal treatment back home by militants now considered terrorists.
The songs, performed with piano accompaniment, are appropriately brooding and operatic, capturing the anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and horror central to the wartime-civilian and refugee experience. Writer Rick Jones and director Barbara Larose create loads of suspense in tense scenes at boarder check-points, airports, and courtrooms, but also present sweet moments of altruism, compassion, love and hope.
As it is, this pretty bare-bones production would definitely play better on a stage smaller than the cavernous Randolph, but the strength of both the material and the performances shines through, making a compelling case for an expanded and enhanced remount in the future.
Mooney on Theatre
Seeking Refuge, produced by Thick and Thin Theatre, is performing as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival. According to the UNHCR more than 65 million people were displaced worldwide in 2015. That’s the highest number since World War II.Here in Canada, we’ve seen fear mongering in the conservative media leading to growing racist sentiment against refugees. A show about the plight of refugees couldn’t be more timely or important.
Written and composed by Rick Jones, Seeking Refuge is the story of two sisters; Mara (Liana Bdewi) and Saleet (Trisha Talreja), caught in a war and forced to flee their homes. They have enough of their mother’s jewelry to barter a smuggler to get one of them out of the country, but the other must stay behind in the hands of a local warlord, Tobim (Nabil Ayoub).
While the costumes vaguely suggest a setting in the Middle East, I thought it was a clever choice to not reference any specific setting; it could be Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or Yemen. The point is that ultimately, the specifics of a conflict aren’t important. The result is the same: war and violence forces innocent people to flee for their lives.
While Jones’ plot hits all the right points, at first I struggled a bit to connect with this story as a musical. The subject matter is heavy, the issues are complex, and I wasn’t sure if a musical was the right format. Afterward, I became convinced it could work as a musical but I think it still needs a bit more work to really make things click into place.
The greatest challenge in telling refugees’ stories is in humanizing and creating empathy for them. Right now the characters in the show feel more like archetypes than fully fleshed-out people. As a result, the show comes off feeling a bit cerebral and didactic.
Most of Jones’ songs are recitative (talk-singing where characters describe what’s happening in song), but I think the book scenes (the scripted dialogue between songs) would be able to advance the plot more effectively and efficiently.
Where I think the musical theatre format could best serve this story is in humanizing the characters. In a musical, a character often expresses their internal emotions and states their greatest hopes, fears, and desires in an “I want” song. When done well, these songs serve to create an emotional connection with a character. We empathize with them, we feel their emotions, and we root for them. It’s one of the greatest tricks in the musical theatre handbag.
Right now, I’m left intellectually knowing that I *should* care for these characters and really wanting to care for them but finding that the show speaks more to my head than to my heart. I think the show would be better served using book scenes to advance the narrative and economically using musical numbers to flesh out character, and create emotional resonance at key moments in the plot.
That being said, I thought the performances were superb. Bdewi and Talreja as the sisters, and Noah Beemer as Manu—the younger sister’s love interest—especially imbue their characters with as much emotion and humanity as the text will allow.
Overall, Seeking Refuge is an important if imperfect work. I’m all for anything advocating empathy for refugees, and I’d love to see how the show develops.
Seeking Refuge, produced by Thick and Thin Theatre, is performing as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival. According to the UNHCR more than 65 million people were displaced worldwide in 2015. That’s the highest number since World War II.Here in Canada, we’ve seen fear mongering in the conservative media leading to growing racist sentiment against refugees. A show about the plight of refugees couldn’t be more timely or important.
Written and composed by Rick Jones, Seeking Refuge is the story of two sisters; Mara (Liana Bdewi) and Saleet (Trisha Talreja), caught in a war and forced to flee their homes. They have enough of their mother’s jewelry to barter a smuggler to get one of them out of the country, but the other must stay behind in the hands of a local warlord, Tobim (Nabil Ayoub).
While the costumes vaguely suggest a setting in the Middle East, I thought it was a clever choice to not reference any specific setting; it could be Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, or Yemen. The point is that ultimately, the specifics of a conflict aren’t important. The result is the same: war and violence forces innocent people to flee for their lives.
While Jones’ plot hits all the right points, at first I struggled a bit to connect with this story as a musical. The subject matter is heavy, the issues are complex, and I wasn’t sure if a musical was the right format. Afterward, I became convinced it could work as a musical but I think it still needs a bit more work to really make things click into place.
The greatest challenge in telling refugees’ stories is in humanizing and creating empathy for them. Right now the characters in the show feel more like archetypes than fully fleshed-out people. As a result, the show comes off feeling a bit cerebral and didactic.
Most of Jones’ songs are recitative (talk-singing where characters describe what’s happening in song), but I think the book scenes (the scripted dialogue between songs) would be able to advance the plot more effectively and efficiently.
Where I think the musical theatre format could best serve this story is in humanizing the characters. In a musical, a character often expresses their internal emotions and states their greatest hopes, fears, and desires in an “I want” song. When done well, these songs serve to create an emotional connection with a character. We empathize with them, we feel their emotions, and we root for them. It’s one of the greatest tricks in the musical theatre handbag.
Right now, I’m left intellectually knowing that I *should* care for these characters and really wanting to care for them but finding that the show speaks more to my head than to my heart. I think the show would be better served using book scenes to advance the narrative and economically using musical numbers to flesh out character, and create emotional resonance at key moments in the plot.
That being said, I thought the performances were superb. Bdewi and Talreja as the sisters, and Noah Beemer as Manu—the younger sister’s love interest—especially imbue their characters with as much emotion and humanity as the text will allow.
Overall, Seeking Refuge is an important if imperfect work. I’m all for anything advocating empathy for refugees, and I’d love to see how the show develops.
Life With More Cowbell
Thick and Thin Theatre Productions presents Rick Jones’ timely and poignant musical Seeking Refuge: A Musical Tragedy. Directed by Barbara Larose, assisted by Ellen Green, with music direction/accompaniment by Robert Graham and stage management by Margot “Mom” Devlin, the Paul O’Sullivan Prize-winning show is running at the Randolph Theatre for Toronto Fringe.Opening not with music but with the sounds of gunfire and bombs, we are thrown into a horrific world of civil war, where sisters Mara (Liana Bdewi) and Saleet (Trisha Talreja) have lost everything—except each other. In search of a safe place away from the bullets and collapsing buildings, they accept the help of family friend Tobim (Nabil Ayoub), a soldier fighting for the government who has connections with a man who can get them passage across the sea. Only able to afford one passage, Mara insists that her younger sister Saleet go, and plans to reunite with her sister when Saleet has settled somewhere safe. Their mother’s jewellery proves insufficient payment to the pirate Zaydal (Milton Dover, in multiple roles, including the Judge), and Tobim pledges to work security for him for a month.
During the sea voyage, Saleet meets Manu (Noah Beemer); he has papers, money and a lawyer aunt sponsoring him, while she has nothing. In a bargain that will benefit them both, she accepts his “on paper” marriage proposal, as it will be better for them both to be travelling as man and wife. Meanwhile, Tobim is taking out his displeasure at having to work for Zaydal on Mara, who is forced to become his slave in order to survive in the refugee camp. Raped and beaten, she never gives up hope that Saleet has made it to safety.
By the time Saleet and Manu get to his aunt’s (Jennifer Walls, in multiple roles), they have fallen in love; and with a baby on the way, they are granted refugee status and set about sponsoring Mara. Unfortunately, Mara’s application is denied; she’s been associated with Tobim, who’s been labelled a terrorist. They must find another way to bring Mara over—but will it work?
The music has a Western Asian flavour; and there are some particularly beautiful duets, especially between the sisters, and Saleet and Manu, with stand-out vocals from Talreja, Beemer and Walls (who also plays a UN refugee worker). News headlines come into an up-close and personal focus as we see the human stories behind the statistics. As this is a musical tragedy, there is heartache and grief—and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one with tears in my eyes.
Family, sacrifice and hope as separated sisters struggle for safety and reunion in the timely, heart-wrenching Seeking Refuge: A Musical Tragedy.
Seeking Refuge: A Musical Tragedy continues at the Randolph Theatre until July 16.
Thick and Thin Theatre Productions presents Rick Jones’ timely and poignant musical Seeking Refuge: A Musical Tragedy. Directed by Barbara Larose, assisted by Ellen Green, with music direction/accompaniment by Robert Graham and stage management by Margot “Mom” Devlin, the Paul O’Sullivan Prize-winning show is running at the Randolph Theatre for Toronto Fringe.Opening not with music but with the sounds of gunfire and bombs, we are thrown into a horrific world of civil war, where sisters Mara (Liana Bdewi) and Saleet (Trisha Talreja) have lost everything—except each other. In search of a safe place away from the bullets and collapsing buildings, they accept the help of family friend Tobim (Nabil Ayoub), a soldier fighting for the government who has connections with a man who can get them passage across the sea. Only able to afford one passage, Mara insists that her younger sister Saleet go, and plans to reunite with her sister when Saleet has settled somewhere safe. Their mother’s jewellery proves insufficient payment to the pirate Zaydal (Milton Dover, in multiple roles, including the Judge), and Tobim pledges to work security for him for a month.
During the sea voyage, Saleet meets Manu (Noah Beemer); he has papers, money and a lawyer aunt sponsoring him, while she has nothing. In a bargain that will benefit them both, she accepts his “on paper” marriage proposal, as it will be better for them both to be travelling as man and wife. Meanwhile, Tobim is taking out his displeasure at having to work for Zaydal on Mara, who is forced to become his slave in order to survive in the refugee camp. Raped and beaten, she never gives up hope that Saleet has made it to safety.
By the time Saleet and Manu get to his aunt’s (Jennifer Walls, in multiple roles), they have fallen in love; and with a baby on the way, they are granted refugee status and set about sponsoring Mara. Unfortunately, Mara’s application is denied; she’s been associated with Tobim, who’s been labelled a terrorist. They must find another way to bring Mara over—but will it work?
The music has a Western Asian flavour; and there are some particularly beautiful duets, especially between the sisters, and Saleet and Manu, with stand-out vocals from Talreja, Beemer and Walls (who also plays a UN refugee worker). News headlines come into an up-close and personal focus as we see the human stories behind the statistics. As this is a musical tragedy, there is heartache and grief—and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one with tears in my eyes.
Family, sacrifice and hope as separated sisters struggle for safety and reunion in the timely, heart-wrenching Seeking Refuge: A Musical Tragedy.
Seeking Refuge: A Musical Tragedy continues at the Randolph Theatre until July 16.
tweet from Glen Sumi, NOW Magazine
"Phone died so couldn't tweet abt @SeekingRefugeTO - a powerful musical abt an urgent issue, w some intriguing songs and fine, diverse cast."
"Phone died so couldn't tweet abt @SeekingRefugeTO - a powerful musical abt an urgent issue, w some intriguing songs and fine, diverse cast."
