Refugees' Stories Come to Life in Lyric Square Maze

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Visitors praise theatre's group's pop-up installation and performance

 

Lyric Square has hosted Routes, an unusual pop-up maze which aims to tell local people stories about the lives of refugees.

On Saturday and Sunday, 29 and 30 July, shoppers in Hammersmith were surprised to come across the wood and mesh maze and to be invited to explore its winding interior.

Routes was created by Kintsugi Theatre, a London-based drama group and featured two actors, one English and one Iranian, giving a short performance before leading people inside the installation.

Once inside people could discover different works of art and refugees' stories dotted around the walls before enjoying a final performance outside.

The team behind Routes with supporter and local councillor Ben Coleman

Afterwardsm visitors took to Twitter to praise the production. Lilian Tsang tweeted at ‏ @lilian_tsang: " Trekked all the way to West London for @RoutesMaze and it was so worth it. Wonderfully constructed installation and thought-provoking piece!"

Emma Shaw‏ said @Emma_S_Shaw: " Really enjoyed @RoutesMaze today. Got stuck in the revolving door-map of Europe though!"

On H&F Council's website meanwhile, someone known only as Al commented:"This was an excellent use of Lyric Sq, please put on more theatre/performance here in summer."

"There’s often a lack of understanding of refugees, about why they had to leave their country," said the project’s producer Hannah Tookey. "Theatre is often a more empathetic way of dealing with these issues."

Routes includes material from, and has been inspired by, The Caravan storytelling and street theatre project in Lebanon and refugees helped to create the story and design and build the set.

The project was funded by Hammersmith & Fulham Council, who say it is part of their strategy to boost the arts and culture scene in the borough, including securing an £8.6 million funding boost for H&F arts groups over the next four years.

July 28, 2017