Geography: Oceania > New Zealand
Year: 2009
Produced by: Red Leap Theatre; commissioned by Auckland Arts Festival
Creative Team: Created by Red Leap Theatre; adapted from Shaun Tan’s graphic novel
Synopsis: Red Leap Theatre’s The Arrival adapts Shaun Tan’s wordless graphic novel about a man who leaves his homeland and enters a strange new city. The production uses puppetry, physical theatre, music and visual storytelling to create a world of unfamiliar architecture, language, food and customs. The man meets different fellow migrants on his journey who tell him their own story as he himself grapples with separation from his home and adaptation to a new environment. The production is largely non-verbal, it stages displacement through gesture and image rather than dialogue. The protagonist’s journey reflects migrants, refugees and displaced people who must learn how to live in an unknown environment while carrying memory of another place. The production avoids naming a single national crisis, allowing the strangeness of arrival itself to become part of the theatrical experience.
Source: Red Leap Theatre, Production Information Page for The Arrival: https://redleaptheatre.co.nz/production/the-arrival/ Shaun Tan, Portfolio Page for The Arrival: https://www.shauntan.net/film-and-theatre Theatre View, Production Page for The Arrival: https://www.theatreview.org.nz/production/the-arrival/