AusStage

Event

Survivors

Venue

The Performance Space (1983-2007), Redfern, NSW

First Date

21 July 1995

Last Date

30 July 1995

Dates Estimated

Status

Professional

World Premiere

Part of a Tour

Yes

Description

Survivors: from the heart of an alienating experience and the will to overcome

A play and exhibition facilitated by performance artist Gerardo Rodriguez-Bruzzesi expressing love, life, struggle and dreams in the medium of performance, music and images with the participation of survivors of torture and trauma from STARTTS (Services for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors)

'In that place where they kept me, I heard how they tortured many other people. All that I could feel were their screams of terror and pain and the smells of fear and torture, the odours of blood, faeces, urine and vomit. What they tried to destroy in me gave me the power to survive and to endure that experience. There was always a way of freedom which they or nobody will ever be able to repress in another human being - imagination.'
There were fantasies. Each day a different fantasy:
A Zulu warrior celebrating a victory. The Mekong river and Vietnamese fisherman. A butterfly A ballroom dancer. The sublime of giving birth. Alongside the tragedy, the fantasies become reality.

A brave journey through the heart of a people creating hope despite suffering."

A public forum Torture Survival Forum: art as a means of survival was also held on July 30.

Description Source

Other

Primary Genre

Theatre - Spoken Word

Secondary Genre

Performance

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