HYDERABAD: The movement-based performance explored the experiences of refugees and migrants through movement, stillness, and soundscape. The play, inspired by a 2017 photograph of Rohingya refugees crossing the Naf River, was created by Abheesh Sasidharan. He speaks to CE about both Rohingya refugees and the play.
On Sunday, Phoenix Arena, at HITEC City wore a gloomy look, as a movement-based performance titled: 'Floating Bodies' made its debut in Hyderabad. It was a meeting between two bodies, two languages, two geographies, and two identities in an estuary, where water and land converge, all the performers were melancholic but carried a mist of hope. "When our freedom for a movement is controlled by others, manipulated by others without our knowledge, others capture our life. There are many questions and blank moments.Those wet moments and flash questions become Floating Bodies", quoted Abheesh Sashidharan about the philosophy being the play.
It all started with a refugee boy, who did not know how to swim, but enters with a yellow plastic oil container into an unknown space after crossing the river. He experiences fear, helplessness, and a senseless hope there. In the meantime, a photographer enters with his still camera, capturing the moments as the two gradually engage through movement, stillness, and muteness before it breaks into a silent drama in a non-dramatic way.
The performance delves into the possibilities of bodies, materials, water, space, sound, time, and photography to create an atmosphere where the audience can engage with and contemplate the experiences of refugees and migrants. "Our intention is not to convey any message to the audience, but to create an understanding that prompts discussion about refugees’ experiences of instability, identity crises, and basic human rights," said conceptualiser Abheesh who is also a performance practitioner and independent scholar from the city, particularly interested in human rights issues.
"The photograph of the Rohingya boy crossing the Naf River with yellow palm oil had a profound impact on me and was the catalyst for the creation of 'Floating Bodies'," Abheesh said. He added, "Being a refugee or a migrant is painful and always questions one's identity. The photograph disturbed me deeply, and I felt the urge to express my worries and explore the aesthetics of photography and its social responsibility."
In 'Floating Bodies, artistes attempt to engage with the photograph in non-narrative and non-dramatic ways, elaborating on the possibilities of movement and stillness connected with water. The proximity between identities is explored in hybrid ways raising questions about the neutrality towards ethnic cleansing. The stillness of the boy with the yellow plastic oil container and the materiality of the photograph became the beginning point for the idea of the performance, which sought to spark a conversation and prompt introspection about the plight of refugees and migrants.