SWIM

Theatre conspiracy & Pandemic theatre co-production

Presented by Push festival & Touchstone Theatre | January 30th - February 2nd, 2025 | The Cultch - Vancouver BC

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What does it feel like to be utterly submerged?

details

IT’S AN 8KM SWIM FROM GÜZELÇAMLI, TURKEY TO THE GREEK ISLAND OF SAMOS. THAT’S 160 LENGTHS OF AN OLYMPIC SIZED SWIMMING POOL.

Complete darkness, a vast sea, 8kms, the distance many undertake in search of asylum in Europe. SWIM is an immersive audio-haptic experience that imagines the physical, mental and spiritual challenges of this treacherous passage as it meditates upon the emotional toll of displacement. Harnessing cutting-edge technologies to simulate audio and tactile sensations, the audience experiences much of the piece in darkness plunged into immersive audio, haptic technology and tactile sensorium.

Drawing loose inspiration from the epic Arabic story of Laila and Majnun (most famously recorded by Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi), SWIM invites audiences to imagine what feelings one moves through as they endure the fatigue of this perilous crossing. It meditates on the question: When one is driven to leave their love, their life, their home -  what parts of oneself must die to move forward?

With Support from bHaptics Technology

credits

Created by Jivesh Parasram, Tom Arthur Davis, David Mesiha, & Gavan Cheema

Written by Jivesh Parasram & Tom Arthur Davis

Directed by Gavan Cheema & David Mesiha

Music, Sound Design & Haptics by David Mesiha

Accessibility Consultant: Amy Amantea

Voice Performer: Jivesh Parasram

Special thanks to Tim Carlson for original script dramaturgy

SummerWorks Workshop Performers: Tsholo Khalema, Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, & Sally Zori

Production History

August 2021 • Workshop Audio Edition: SummerWorks Performance Festival • Toronto, ON

Fall 2023 & Summer 2024 • Development Workshops • Vancouver, BC

January 2025 • PuSh International Performing Arts Festival & Touchstone Theatre • Vancouver, BC

Workshop Images

Funding and support

This project has been made possible through the generous support of PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Touchstone Theatre, SummerWorks Performance Festival, The Cultch, Why Not Theatre, Crow’s Theatre, Volcano Theatre, Suitcase in Point, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, Metro Vancouver, the City of Vancouver, the Hamber Foundation and the Government of Canada.