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Culture Stage

Lost in transition

LOST VOICES written and directed by Ed Roy, with Soo Garay, Shaun McComb, Owais Lightwala and Sarena Parmar. Presented by Topological Theatre and Theatre Centre at the Theatre Centre (1087 Queen West). Opens Friday (April 1) and runs to April 17, Thursday-Saturday 8 pm, matinee Sunday 2:30 pm. Pwyc-$20. 416-538-0988. See listing.


An unaccompanied child from a Third World nation arrives at a Western airport seeking refuge in a new land.

Sound like an isolated tale? As writer/director Ed Roy has learned, it’s a worldwide phenomenon that involves thousands of children every year.

His response has been to write Lost Voices, in which two young teens – Wakeed from Afghanistan and Nabeela from India – land at Pearson Airport and are subjected to questions by immigration officials.

“[Unaccompanied children] are treated like adults, interrogated and often viewed as potential terrorists,” says Roy. “They’re known as ‘Paladin children,’ apparently cast to the winds. Sometimes they won’t tell their true stories in order to protect family back home.

“Other countries have national policies about how to deal with them, but Canada doesn’t,” says Roy. “It’s up to each province to handle the children, who have been sent here for reasons that range from child trafficking to vendettas to fleeing wars.”

After researching the background of the Paladin children with the help of front-line social workers, Roy realized the stress the workers themselves are under and was determined to make their stories as much a part of Lost Voices as those of the teens.

Download associated audio clip.

“I didn’t just want to create a piece of issue-based theatre, but rather to look at the humans caught up in the situation,” notes the playwright. “It’s as important to look at the young people searching for a place to live as it is to examine the struggle of the workers to have normal lives when they’re dealing with seemingly impossible problems.”

The material has struck a chord with Owais Lightwala, the 20-year-old actor and York University student who played Wakeed in last year’s workshop.

Download associated audio clip.

“I had high school friends who were refugees, so I feel I know that world even though it wasn’t mine,” offers the passionate Lightwala, who emigrated to Canada in 2004.

“My immigrant experience is so safe compared to Wakeed’s, but as an artist and citizen, it’s my responsibility to tell this story and validate the experience of others. One of the best things about this play is that it’s not a documentary. It humanizes people we see in the news and doesn’t make them ‘other.’

“In North American culture, what’s not talked about is often deemed unimportant, and unfortunately it’s the media that define the topics. So these days, Charlie Sheen is important but Wakeed isn’t. Yet every two days, a Wakeed shows up at Pearson.”

Roy has a long history of nurturing young theatre talent, most recently as director and dramaturge of Waawaate Fobister’s award-winning Agokwe. The show’s been touring Canada and returns to Buddies, where it premiered, in May.

Lightwala’s another artist who’s benefited from Roy’s tutelage the connection came about through Why Not Theatre’s Ravi Jain, with whom Lightwala has worked.

“I love that Ed empowers us to take responsibility for the work,” he says. “I never feel like I’m used as a tool to enhance his vision. As intimidated as I was the first day of rehearsal, being in a room with more experienced people, I’ve always felt that I’ve been respected and encouraged to explore and challenge both Ed and myself.

“I’m used to creation-based learning, so the experience of Lost Lives has been exactly the way I like to work. In the several weeks of developing the show last April, I learned more than I could performing a year of monologues in a classroom.”

Additional Interview Clip

The use of movement in Lost Voices

Download associated audio clip.

jonkap@nowtoronto.com

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