New Mercury Theatre Media Release
Sunday, December 21, 2003
Farewell show for REFUGITIVE
After an extraordinary national tour that has taken in over forty
different venues over three months and delighted almost 10,000
Australians, Iranian refugee Shahin Shafaei will give a final
performance of his acclaimed one man show Refugitive as part of Live
Bait at the Bondi Pavilion Theatre in Sydney at 7.00pm on Thursday
January 15, 2004.
Refugitive tells the story of the 22 months Shahin spent incarcerated in
the Curtin Detention Centre near Port Hedland in Western Australia,
especially focussing on the first ten months where without reason he was
kept in isolation and was not allowed to communicate with the outside
world in any way.
During this time Shahin was not able to use the telephone, watch
television, listen to the radio, write a letter to the United Nations or
even contact his parents in Iran to tell them he was alive.
An acclaimed actor and playwright in his native country, 29 year old
Shahin was forced to flee Iran after a play he wrote was deemed
anti-government. The director of the play is still held in prison in
Iran today.
Shahin's journey took him to Australia, via Malaysia and Indonesia,
where the boat he was travelling on was intercepted at Ashmore Reef.
From here he was taken to the infamous Curtin Detention where a new
struggle for survival began.
After his release from Curtin, Shahin was granted a Temporary Protection
Visa (TPV) which only allows him to stay in Australia for 3 years.
Shahin's TPV runs out in early 2005.
On his release Shahin had one goal - "to tell my story to the people of
Australia."
Thanks to the boundless support of Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR),
Queensland, Victoria and NSW Refugee Action Coalitions (RAC), Buddies
and many other refugee support groups Shahin has been able to tour
Refugitive continuously from August to December 2003.
Along the way he has performed from Noosa in Queensland to Warragul in
Victoria and everywhere in between including the Team West Community
Conference at Rosehill Race Course, the Barrabor Festival in Barraba and
the Eastern Suburbs Leagues Club as a part of Waverley Council's Refugee
Week celebrations.
Now you have one final chance to see Refugitive before Shahin departs
for Albury to perform at the Rural Australians for Refugees National
Conference in early February 2004 and then on to a season at the
Adelaide Fringe Festival.
If you have not seen this show don't miss out on your final chance to
see one of the most powerful pieces of theatre you will ever see. It
tells the story of something that happened not in a foreign land - but
on these very shores.
Or if you have been lucky enough to see Refugitive before please come
back and say hello again. All proceeds from the night go directly to
Shahin to help him with expenses for his tour to Adelaide.
For more information please contact: Alex Broun, the Artistic Director
of the New Mercury Theatre on 0408 268 043
Event Info:
What: Farewell performance of Refugitive
Where: Bondi Pavilion Theatre, Bondi Pavilion, Campbell Parade, Bondi.
When: 7pm, Thursday January 15, 2004. (ONE SHOW ONLY !)
Price: $15
Bookings: 02 9130 4044 (Credit Card bookings accepted) or from the
Festival Ticketing Booth outside the Bondi Pavilion.
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