Ce n'est pas encore fini

English Version

“To the glory of the world that does not change despite all the dreams we have.”

Excerpt from the film Ulysses’ Gaze by Theo Angelopoulos

This live performance is dedicated to all the children who had to leave their lands because of war and who lost their lives during their migration journeys.

The performance tells the story of an island located on the Eastern Mediterranean migration route, highlighting the story of a child who tries to build a refuge using the objects left behind by migrants on the island.

We were inspired by a museum on the island of Lampedusa. The museum, PortoM, exhibits objects that were abandoned or found on the island.

The stories of migrants arriving from the sea, rescue organizations, the inhabitants of the island, and the child—our main character—intertwine with one another. In this wordless performance, physical theatre techniques, including shadow theatre and mask theatre, become essential elements of the narrative.

After a three-week artistic residency at Cirque Fontaine aux Images, the production titled Ce n’est pas encore fini continues its creative journey.

Why this title?

“Nothing is finished. Nor does it fail. I returned to the place where a story floating in the past began. A story that loses its clarity in the dust of time and suddenly returns like a dream.”

— Theo Angelopoulos

Migration may have existed for as long as humanity itself. It is a phenomenon whose methods change while the reasons remain the same. The subjects may change, but the stories have remained similar for years.

When people are forced to migrate, they often believe that this journey will end one day. However, for our main character, the child, this journey is not finished. Just like for many other children who are victims of war and lost in migration. Their journey is not yet over. Perhaps it never will be.

Nevertheless, we will continue to tell these stories wherever we are in the world.

“Among the belongings left behind by refugees who managed, somehow, to continue their journey toward Europe after arriving on the island of Lesbos, clothes, shoes and toys stand out as bitter memories of this fatal journey.”

This piece, in which light, sound and music create a surreal world, borrows the figurative language of dreams from poetry, creating a layered language. The text of our wordless performance was written through a process in which light, sound and music were treated holistically.

We attempted to create a piece that does not follow a conventional narrative structure. Instead of linking actions through a classical dramatic structure, they are connected through their own poetic causality, inspired by the layered language of images that emerges when words disappear.

We are creating this performance through physical improvisations on the theme with two actors based in Paris.

The Team

Ladin Avşar Tokuç – Actress
Sencan Oytun Tokuç – Actor
Didem Coşkunseven – Sound Design
Dr. Selin Altunkaya – Project Consultant

Calendar

Research Laboratory

17 May – 27 May 2023
Kumbaracı50 Theatre – Istanbul, Turkey

23 June – 1 July 2023
Théâtre d'Étoile – Izmir, Turkey

Residencies

7 August – 27 August 2023
Fontaine aux Images – Clichy-sous-Bois (Île-de-France)

16 March – 20 March 2024
Le Cinq – 104 – Paris

Sources of Inspiration

Cinema