Fringe Foreword
Simone Weil wrote a book called The Need for Roots. In it, she says we all need to feel rooted. But we often don't think about this, and it can be hard to explain.
Displacement means being forced to leave your home, or country. It can also mean feeling lost or out of place, even when you are in a place you know. Why are so many of us, humans and non-humans, going through displacement today?
When you think of displacement, you might picture people being forced to leave their homes and communities. We see this happening in places like Palestine and Ukraine. We see the pain and violence all over social media. It also happens in places like Sudan, Yemen and Syria, which we don't hear as much about.
Many people have to take dangerous journeys because they are poor or because they are punished for their political beliefs. On these hard journeys, they might die, or be treated badly in the new places.
Because of what we do, climate change is also getting worse quickly. There is extreme heat, wildfires, and melting ice shelves. Things feel hopeless.
Displacement isn't just about being forced to move. It can also happen because of the weight and pain of our past, whether it's from our country, culture or personal life. Losing our sense of safety and comfort makes us feel lost and hurt. Being uprooted makes us ask: Where do we belong? Who are we?
In her poem On the Pulse of Morning, Maya Angelou reminds us that we cannot change our painful past. But, we can face it with courage and stop it from happening again.
Displacement can make us feel powerless. But we don't have to give up.
Paolo Freire, in his book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, says we must reject the idea of giving up. We can adapt and change, so we should not just accept our situation.
Hard times of hurt and pain can help us grow greatly. Even when we are displaced, we can improve our current relationships, build new relationships, and learn to care more for others. By being kind, we can turn pain into hope. Instead of being negative, we can dream of a better future.
Rebecca Solnit wrote a book called Paradise Built in Hell. She says when life-as-usual gets disrupted, people will step up to help. This brings joy in times of death, chaos, fear, and loss. If we understand this, we can see new possibilities.
For Fringe 2025, we ask you to think about displacement and ways to overcome it. We have chosen an exciting lineup of works from Singapore and other countries.
They look at displacement in various contexts:
- history of how social issues and politics influenced each other
- community connections
- damage to the environment, and
- mental health.
Two works explore how war, conflict and politics affects future generations. They are:
1. Commission Continua by Noma Yini, a South African theatre company. Tony Bonani, from the show Kafka's Ape, plays the main character.
2. Eclipse by The Necessary Stage, a Singaporean theatre company
Birds Migrant Theatre from Singapore returns to the Fringe with a powerful play about the refugee crisis and how it impacts different people.
From Australia, we have The End of Winter by Siren Theatre Co. This work has won many awards for exploring how climate change causes displacement. This production uses beautiful words to tell its story.
Local artist Cheryl Ho works with other artists in her group Mm And Something Happens Here (MASHH). Their work, I Am Seaweed, is a fun and interactive multimedia show about the big mental health challenges we face today.
These stories are amazing and inspiring. They show how strong people can be in tough times. They remind us how we are all connected, and why we should support each other and take action, instead of doing nothing. Together, we must heal and care for each other. Let's find strength in what we have in common, and work together to build a better future, even during times of displacement.
Fringe Foreword
To be rooted is perhaps the most important and least recognised need of the human soul. It is one of the hardest to define.
— Simone Weil, The Need for Roots
Why are so many of us—nations, communities, species, and individuals—experiencing displacement today?
Think ‘displacement’ and one would likely see it as being synonymous to the violent untethering of people from their homelands and communities. Today, we are all witnesses to this, impotent as we scroll through endless photos and footages on the abject horrors in Ukraine and Palestinian lands—and these are only the most visible crises amongst many others like in Sudan, Yemen, and Syria. We read with horror about people forced to embark on perilous journeys due to economic impoverishment or political persecution, many of who lose their lives or face further discrimination and harm in unfamiliar lands. We are helpless in the face of devastating heatwaves, wildfires and collapsing ice shelves, no thanks the accelerating climate crisis that we have an active hand in.
Yet being displaced is not a phenomenon only marked by a change of physical location under duress. We can be similarly destabilised by the burdens and scars of history, be they national, cultural or personal. Displacement is compounded by deracination from safety and comfort; it is an assault on one’s physical, mental and spiritual stability. Being uprooted compels us to question our sense of belonging and the very essence of our identities.
History, despite its wrenching pain
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.
— Maya Angelou, “On the Pulse of Morning”
Displacement strips us of power and agency. But we can choose not to let despair take victory. As Paolo Freire wrote in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, “a total denouncement of fatalism is necessary. We are transformative beings and not beings for accommodation.” With trauma comes the potential for transformation. In the face of displacement, we have the power to redefine our relationships, to forge new kinship, and to foster deeper empathy for humanity. By exercising compassion, we can turn anguish into hope, and cynicism into a vision for a better future.“When all the ordinary divides and patterns are shattered, people step up–not all, but the great preponderance–to become their brothers’ keepers. And that purposefulness and connectedness brings joy even amidst death, chaos, fear and loss. Were we to know and believe this, our sense of what is possible at any time might change.”
— Rebecca Solnit, A Paradise Built in Hell
For Fringe 2025, we invite you to contemplate the notion of displacement and how we can overcome it. We have programmed a series of riveting international and Singapore productions that delve into myriad manifestations of displacement: socio-political history, community bonds, environmental degradation, and mental wellness. Commission Continua by South Africa’s Noma Yini—featuring Tony Bonani Miyambo who had previously showcased his critically acclaimed monologue Kafka’s Ape at the Fringe—and Eclipse by The Necessary Stage examine the historical scars of socio-political strife and their present-day impact on communities, families, and individuals. Another Fringe alumnus Birds Migrant Theatre (Singapore) returns to the festival with a searing piece about the refugee crisis as experienced by different stakeholders. The dislocation that climate change has created is at the heart of Australia’s Siren Theatre Co’s award-winning lyrical production The End of Winter. Meanwhile, local thespian Cheryl Ho collaborates with various artists under the moniker MASHH (Mm And Something Happens Here) to present I Am Seaweed, a fun and interactive multimedia theatrical experience that probes into the mental health crisis plaguing society today.As we journey through these remarkable stories of individuals confronting personal and communal adversity, may we realise that we are indeed bound to one another, that we can do something rather than be passive. We can, in desperate times, still be each other’s keepers. Together, we can and must heal and uplift one another. Let us find strength in our shared humanity and the resilience to build a brighter future, even in the face of displacement.
The Fringe Team
PhotoS CREDITS1. WePushTheSky by Qabila (India), Photographed by Noorhanaz
2. The Troupe by Birds Migrant Theatre (Singapore), Photographed by Birds Migrant Theatre
3. Eclipse by The Necessary Stage (Singapore), Photographed by Tuckys Photography
Image Description:
1. A production photo of WePushTheSky. A young Indian woman places her right fist over her heart like a pledge while she stares straight ahead determinedly. The lighting is deep red and dramatic. A dupatta (or, an Indian shawl) is draped over her head and shoulders.
2. A publicity photo of The Troupe. Five young people are screaming excitedly as they discover a break in a meshed fence. They are: two Indonesian women, a Burmese man, a Bangladeshi man, and an Indian-Arab woman. They have medium to dark skin tones. The Indonesian woman in a khaki dress and long straight black hair in the middle sticks her head out excitedly but the Bangladeshi man in a dark red polo t-shirt at the bottom of the frame pokes his head out of the break in the fence cautiously.
3. A publicity photo of Eclipse. A moody close-up headshot of a young South Asian man from the shoulders up. He has medium-dark skin tone and dark brown eyes. He looks straight at the camera with a solemn expression and lips together. His dark hair is neatly combed in a side parting and he is clean shaven. Only the right side of his face is visible with the left half completely in shadow. He wears a pale grey shirt with a nehru collar.