Hi all!

It’s such a treat to look around the internet these days, pictures and praises for Rih just about everywhere. Fenty is truly bringing us all together <3

For the past year I’ve also been working on something that I hope will contribute to bringing people together. I’m talking about ”Movements”, a collaboration between Cirkus Cirkör and Malmö Stadsteater for which I’ve written the script. Tilde Björfors is directing, music by Irya Gmeyner, scenography by Fanny Senocq and Fridjon Rafnsson, costume by Fridjon Rafnsson and on stage we have Helen Al-Janabi, Tom Ahlsell, Nedal Alsuoaf, Nasreen Al-Janabi Larsson, David Eriksson, Irya Gmeyner, Javid Heidari, Oldoz Javidi, Karin Lithman, Ibraheem Manaem, Ashtar Muallem and Johannes Wanselow.

Yes, wow, that’s a lot of names. And of course many more working behind the stage and all around. It’s insane how many people are involved in a process like this, each one as valuable as the other. The premiere is this Friday, May 5th, at Malmö Stadsteater.

Photo: Abed Naji

The performance starts out in parallel stories from refugees arriving to Malmö during the fall of 2015 and volunteers welcoming them. The stories are heard as individual voices, choirs and through the circus’ physical language and magic. It’s also a piece about how a closed border can challenge the solidarity between people and create a void which fear, distrust and division may grow in.

I’m hoping it will work as a gathering space to discuss the experiences our city has. We are so many who carry memories, wounds, love, trauma and strength from the situation that occurs when people move from one place to another, be it us, our parents, partners, friends, co-workers, neighbors or children who made the journey. We need to talk about that and how to practice solidarity and organize against the nationalistic forces marching through Europe (and the world), and I believe the theatre is a platform from which such a talk is possible on not just an intellectual but spiritual, emotional and moral level.

Photo: Emmalisa Pauly

It’s also super scary and a huge challenge. I’m scared of just about everything involving this process but am pushing myself to walk through it. No matter how close the subject is to my heart, how fragile it may be or how frightening it is to be facing my first major production post graduation – I’m doing it and keeping a RiRi attitude about the whole thing, staying unapologetic. As long as we all try, right? No matter how small we may feel, we all have to try and make things better. It’s moving too quickly in the other, very much hostile and excluding, direction. This is my way of contributing to the resistance.

Photo: Emmalisa Pauly