The theatre piece “Babylon Beyond Borders” is a play with a unique twist: the same theme is staged in four countries simultaneously, with live transmission on each of the four stages.

Actors and actresses performed in Bush Theatre (England), Harlem Stage (the U.S.), Market Theatre Lab (South Africa) and Sesc Concolação (Brazil) in perfect symphony and the fullness of their stories. In São Paulo, while the audience watches actors Gloire Ilonde and Karina Buhr perform in the flesh on Sesc’s stage, a screen displays the live performances of the other three countries.

Compassiva had the pleasure of being invited by UNHCR to watch the piece on the 14th February. The student of the Portuguese course, Rahaf Haswa, said that “it was a beautiful day, where we could watch an interesting and different piece of theatre”.

The characters in each country narrate stories of migration, both personal and of people close to them – family members, friends and acquaintances. They highlight the social and cultural complexities involved in displacement around the globe: the absence of a home, prejudice and discrimination, difficulties in adaptation, the flight from internal and external conflicts, the fight for survival”.

Débora Blair, coordinator of the Portuguese course, said that she became even more aware of the cause of immigrants and refugees after watching the piece. “It was impressive to feel the drama of the lived experiences of immigrants in such different places in the world. There are millions of human beings all connected by the same experience: forced displacement and all its consequences”.

Compassiva is grateful for the opportunity to enjoy this incredible performance!