b'T3 Journal - Student Writing in Drama, University of Exeter 2020-21 Aoife Rushof the cultural identities of refugee women, demonstratinges the resonances of her own cultural identity within thein the work of the actors bodies to undermine prevalentbody and their memories of Syria as my country (Queens its capacity for reclaiming space for self-definition. Stand- character she is playing. She suggests that Emilyherselfunderstandings of the cultural identities of refugee women.of Syria 2016) and homeland, are represented as mutually ing centre-stage, facing outwards, Ntshangase-Wood greets is represented within the character of Tanja, as muchTaking turns to stand and address the audience directly,constitutive (Kirkwood et al 2013:453). In representing the audience stating, my name is Emily and I am Tanjaas Tanja is represented by Emily (Macpherson 2021),the women share their cherished memories (Queens of Syriathe place of nation within the cultural identities of refu-(Macpherson 2021).through her actors body. The cultural identity of the actor2016) of Syria. The actors body, here, works powerfullygee women through personal depictions of memories of is represented through her experience of metaxis as shethrough voice. These opening moments are character- Syria, the actors body highlights how identities are never Here, she addresses the complex synthesis between actorsimultaneously belongs to both a real and imagined worldised by a tangible nostalgia. Fatemeh speaks of Homs,singular but multiply constructed across different, often and role (Pavis 1985:209) as an unavoidable factor in the(Freebody and Finneran 2013:50). Therefore, Ntshan- her beautiful city and how her warm house is full ofintersecting (Hall 2011:12) personal narratives as well as production of meaning and thus the representation ofgase-Woods cultural identity informs not only her pe- memories of love that she will never forget (Queens ofsocio-political discourses. Consequently, the nuance of cultural identity through the actors body. Paradoxically,ripheral consciousness of the doing (Zarrilli 2013:45) butSyria 2016). Her words conjure images of her house wherethese human stories serves to undermine the dominant her introduction simultaneously blends and places a neces- directly shapes her phenomenal experience of portrayingeverything is beautiful (Queens of Syria 2016). Particularly,narratives manipulated by political and media forces. sary distance between the cultural identities of both TanjaTanja. In this sense, the actors body within participatoryshe describes my small window where I receive the sun-and Ntshangase-Wood. She communicates this intrinsictheatre offers a platform for a representation of the cul- light every morning (Queens of Syria 2016) conveying the connection between her identity and the identity of hertural identities of refugee women informed by the realitysafety and comfort found in the seemingly mundane and character. Her delivery of this line emphasises that, in herof her own experiences. Disrupting the actor/characterpersonal. As she explains I breathe from it (Queens of Syria representation of Tanja inside the embodied processdichotomy, she offers an implicit meta-commentary on the2016), the ensemble, sitting around the edge of the stageAbdulla, A. In press. A Different Approach to Making Theatre with/about (Zarrilli et al 2013:viii) of acting, she inevitably representsrole of the actors body within participatory theatre as it ex- listening, inhale audibly in unison, suggesting their collec- Refugees: A Refuge from Being a Refugee. In: De Martini Ugolotti, N and Caudwell, J. Eds. Leisure and Forced Migration: Lives Lived in Asylum herself. She claims her actors body as a space for self-defi- ceeds the limited notion of turning nonperformers intotive yearning for Syria. Here, the actors body physicallySystems. London: Routledge.nition. Where prevailing narratives characterise the cul- performers (Thompson and Schechner 2004:12). Instead,communicates their desire to breathe Syrian air and gives Bharucha, R. 1996. Somebodys Other: Disorientations in the cultural politics of tural identities of refugee women seeking asylum as othershe addresses the dynamic interaction (Thompson andthe sense that their home is their life and therefore day-to- our times. In: Pavis, P. ed. The Intercultural performance Reader. London: (Smith 2014:48), Ntshangase-Wood uses her actors bodySchechner 2004:13) between actor and character identity.day routines hold value in defining their cultural identitiesRoutledge, 196-212.to centralise her voice and bodymind (Zarrilli 2013:ix)Ntshangase-Wood reveals the power found in this complexmore deeply than any legal, political, or media narrativeFreebody, K and Finneran, M. 2013. Drama and Social Justice. Power, as a former detainee at the Yarls Wood (SBC Theatreperformer identity. She demonstrates agency through hercan. Continuing, her words immerse the audience in aParticipation and Possibility. In: Anderson, M and Dunn, J. eds. How 2020). Her actors body, then, can champion a narrativeperformance, integrating her actors body as a way of redi- sensory description of the scent of jasmine [] roses anddrama activates learning: Contemporary Research and Practice. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 47-63.of resistance, reworking, [and] resilience (Smith 2014:15).recting the narratives surrounding the cultural identities ofbasil and activates a scene in the audiences imagination She introduces John, the producer, Hannah, the directorrefugee women.of her neighbours putting up the laundry and wateringGrierson, J. 2021. Migrants entering UK illegally to be liable for removal at any and Rosie, the writer, speaking out towards the audi- her plants (Queens of Syria 2016). Finally, she questionstime. The Guardian. Published 23 March. [Online]. [Accessed 25 April 2021]. Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/ence before turning to the cast to confirm they are readyOpening in this way, Ntshangase-Woods performancewhat can I say more except to tell you about my abundantmar/23/migrants-entering-uk-illegally-to-be- liable-for-removal-at-any-(Macpherson 2021) to begin. Ntshangase-Woods voiceserves a multipurpose function, introducing theatricalmemories of my country (Queens of Syria 2016). In this way,time.leads the storytelling. Her command of the space defies theform, character, and self. She claims her actors body asthrough the complete merging of actor and role (PavisHajdukowski-Ahmed, M. 2009. A Dialogical Approach to Identity: perception of women seeking asylum as silenced, typi- a platform to shape and define her own cultural identity.1985:209) Fatemeh uses her actors body as a platform toImplications for Refugee Women. In: Hajdukowski-Ahmed, M. Khanlou, N. fied by others speaking on their behalf (Smith 2014:50).This counters the dominant gendered narrative of refugeeoffer alternative images of Syria to the medias depictionand Moussa, H. eds. Not Born a Refugee Woman: Contesting Identities, Rethinking Practices. Oxford: Berghahn Books, 28-54.Consequently, her introduction challenges assumptions ofwomen seeking asylum as de-selved [] dispossessed,of war and rubble. Here, the actors body represents the weakness or passivity (Jeffers 2012:5) as defining featuresdisoriented [] and powerless (Hajdukowski-Ahmedmagnitude of nation as a physical location and a conceptualHall, S. 2005. Cultural Identity and Diaspora. In: Hier, S. ed. Contemporary Sociological Thought: Themes and Theories. Toronto: of the cultural identities of refugee women. Instead, her2009:38), and therefore becomes an act of resistance. Incategory (Holdsworth 2014:1) within the cultural identitiesCanadian Scholars Press Inc, 443-454.actors body becomes a vehicle through which to beginQueens of Syria, the actors body also subverts the he- of these refugee women. The actors body works through a process of demarginalization and re/self-definition.gemonic constructions of the cultural identities of refugeea phenomenal consciousness (Zarrilli 2013:44), formedHall, S. 2011. Introduction: Who Needs Identity?. In: Hall, S. and du Gay, P. Questions of Cultural identity. London: SAGE Publications Ltd, 1-12.This moment demonstrates that the cultural identities ofwomen upheld by the dominant rhetoric that normalis- through memories, to represent the place of nation within refugee women can be explored differently through thees the victimhood and passivity of the foreign othertheir cultural identities as constructed through their dailyHoldsworth, N. 2014. Theatre and National Identity: Re-Imagining Conceptions of Nation. Oxon: Routledge.actors psychophysical processes, characterised by the(Abdulla in press:np). It works to build a counter narrativeexistence, familial connections and sensory, corporeal lives dialectical engagement of the actors bodymind (Zarrilliwhich recognises that there is no such category as ref- in Syria. The actors embodied consciousness (ZarrilliJeffers, A. 2012. Refugees, Theatre and Crisis: Performing Global Identities. 2013:ix). This works as a dynamic but cohesive instrumentugees as a concrete social category (Yuval-Davis and2013:8) is directly fuelled by its recollection of the every- London: Palgrave Macmillan.of communication. Here, Ntshangase-Woods bodymind isKaptani 2009:57). Representing themselves through theirday lives of the actors themselves as a defining part ofKiesling, S. F. 2009. Hegemonic identity-making in narrative. In: De Fina, A. operating through a phenomenal multiple consciousnessactors bodies, these thirteen women enable a reconstruc- their national identity. Their psychophysical processes areSchiffrin, D. and Bamberg, M. eds. Discourse and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (Studies in Interactional Sociolinguistics), (Zarrilli 2013:45). This marks the performers sensation ortion of the cultural identities of refugee women through atherefore characterised by a necessary self-awareness, an261-287.experience of acting, as well as their consciousness of thenarrativization of the self (Hall 2011:3) based on personalamplified feeling of the form (Zarrilli 2013:45), which is doing (Zarrilli 2013:45). This feeling of the form (Zarrilliaccounts of home, family, community and belonging.defined by personal experiences, and thus, the resonanceKing, O. 2021. PDF of Queens of Syria Surtitle Script sent in email to Aoife Rush, 18 January 2021.2013:45) is inevitably affected by the reality of the actorsIn the early stages of this performance, the relation be- of their own cultural identities in their actors bodies. In cultural identity. In stating that she is both Emily andtween text and body and the significance of what story isthis sense, a symbiotic relationship between actor and roleKingsley, P. 2017. The New Odyssey: The Story of Europes Refugee Crisis. London: Guardian Books.Tanja (Macpherson 2021), Ntshangase-Wood acknowledg- being told (Pavis 1985:209) are highlighted as instrumental(Pavis 1985:209) emerges. The performer identity or actors 36 37'