Forced to flee– Refugee Week 2024

Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre marks Refugee Week 2024 with a powerful and heart-moving production by Treehouse Theatre.

Forced To Flee is a challenging, 90-minute production exploring authentic stories by young refugees who escaped homelands, sought asylum, and have settled in Western Sydney.

Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun said the production is a testament to Liverpool’s capacity to not just provide a welcome home but also give refugees the opportunity to share real life stories with the broader Sydney community.

“With more than 150 nationalities living in greater Liverpool, this production is a must see if you want an insight into the city’s multicultural environment,” the Mayor said.

“Liverpool is the heartland of multicultural Australia and each cast member; their families and ethnic communities add to the rich and vibrant fabric of the area.

“Refugee Week is not only a week-long celebration of cultural diversity but also a celebration of how Liverpool accommodates the displaced and marginalised.”

Treehouse Theatre director Catherine Maguire-Donvito said Forced to Flee, running from June 20 to 22, resonates with audiences from Year 5 to adults and provides invaluable professional development for those working in refugee communities.

“The production serves as a testament to the resilience and unwavering desire of these remarkable young people to belong to their new country,” she said.

“The cast of refugees, now settled in Western Sydney attend Miller Technology High School and share personal journeys in a deeply moving performance that is also the culmination of three months of trauma recovery work.

Production Details: June 20 to 22, Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre. Production and booking details: https://tickets.casulapowerhouse.com/Events/Forced-to-Flee

Media Contact: Alan Gale [email protected]

Website: www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au

Instagram: @liverpoolcitycouncil

Facebook: Liverpool City Council Australia

Catherine Maguire-Donvito and Ruth Hartcher, co-founders, Treehouse Theatre.

“I held my teddy bear. My Mum held me. Together, we shivered in the cold, dark room while the men in masks hammered on the door, shouting ‘We will kill you!’”

This was the start of a story told by one of the young refugees in “Forced to Flee”.

It is typical of the “trauma stories” that refugees carry with them every day, causing panic attacks, fear and anger, often triggered by a sound, a gesture or an innocent comment.

“Treehouse Theatre offers a drama-based program of recovery for young refugees”, Ms Maguire Donvito said.

“It starts with group counselling, where they tell their stories in a safe environment. As the counselling progresses, most of the young refugees want to share their stories more widely, to tell the world what happened.

“So the stories are written into short performances and rehearsed, ready to be shared with a wider audience.

” Forced to Flee starts with stories of childhood, of games, fun, laughter. After all, these are children, like children everywhere.

Then come the trauma stories. The audience gasps. Some cry as the tragedy unfolds. Then the nailbiting scenes of escape. What the audience sees on stage, actually happened. This is what the young performers actually lived through. But they did live.

Finally come the stories of recovery, resettlement, and fitting into a new country, a new community.

Ms Hartcher-O’Brien adds: “This is powerful theatre, carefully crafted for audiences from year 5 to adult.

“The audience will be inspired by the resilience of the young refugee cast. In return the cast will be buoyed by the audience response, feeling understood at last.”