A stage play that highlights the life of humanitarian workers, is showing in Taiwan for the first time. The production’s actors and director visited various organizations to interview humanitarian workers and transformed the stories they collected into a play. FTV reporter Stephany Yang sat down with the production’s director and actor to find out more.
Tiago Rodrigues and Comedie deGeneve collaborated for the production “Dans la mesure de l’impossible.” The actors and directors of the production visited several humanitarian organizations in Switzerland and interviewed humanitarian workers. Natacha Koutchoumov is the co-director of Comedie de Geneve, which is one of the biggest theatrical institutions in Switzerland. She is also an actor in the production. She says the play is about dignity and resilience.
Natacha Koutchoumov
Actor and director
We wanted to do a production about a humanitarian worker, since we are based in Geneva. Geneva as you know maybe is the birthplace of a lot of nonprofit organizations so this was the topic of the play. It is a play about dignity. It is a play about resilience and since we got the chance to actually meet humanitarian workers. One of the amazing stories is a story about silence. How when you are a humanitarian worker you have the power to stop the conflict for just a few minutes to try to help some victims.
One story that Koutchoumov was strongly impacted by was a story in which she portrayed on a humanitarian worker looking back at her first experience in a refugee camp when she was only 25 years old. However, Koutchoumov says that the strongest stories she heard were not included in the play.
Natacha Koutchoumov
Actor and director
First of all, it made us very humble as actors because we are just only just actors. We are just telling the story and they just went through this. Of course, I am impacted by the story that I do, that I portray myself on stage. Actually, the strongest story that we heard are not in the play because some stories are too hard to be put on stage. Theater cannot show reality as it is because it is not bearable to listen to them. As actors, what was the strongest stories are not in the play because theater has to find a way to give a twist and give hope.
Koutchoumov said the team spent three weeks interviewing 30 workers during the daytime and organizing notes at night, and then selecting the stories to perform. The team met with humanitarian workers from the staff of the International Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders in Geneva. Inspired by their stories, this work depicts the struggles the workers face as well as their kindness and selfless love. The entire production took seven weeks to put together. Aside from the script, music was also an important part of the production.
Natacha Koutchoumov
Actor and director
Since it is an instrument with no melody, it is just a rhythm. It has an effect on the body of the spectators and the actors. You can project a lot on drums, you can project desperation. Humanitarians always talk about the fact that they cannot share stories with their families because the stories are so tough they cannot share them. In a moment in the play, a humanitarian shares this one. He has to make a decision, an impossible decision. He only has one bag of blood and there are three kids. These kids will die if they don’t get blood today. So he has to decide which child will have the blood.
It is Koutchoumov’s first time visiting Taiwan and performing.
Natacha Koutchoumov
Actor and director
I am completely thrilled. I just arrived. I think it is an honor and a chance. The whole team we are obsessed with the fact that we are performing in Taiwan and talking about it for months. Since we really talk to the audience. We speak to the audience and look the audience in the eye. It is a chance to see how the play will evolve with the reactions of people.
The show will be on at the National Theater until March 19.
