It’s an 8km swim from Güzelçamli, Turkey to the Greek Island of Samos. That’s 160 lengths of an Olympic sized swimming pool.
Swim is a meditative audio experience that imagines the effects of migration on the self. The project guides the audience through to the finish of that treacherous swim: 8km, from Güzelçamlı to Samos, the length to cross into asylum. Loosely inspired by the ancient epic poem, Laila & Majnun, Swim imagines the physical, mental, and spiritual tolls of displacement.
Creative Team
Created by Jivesh Parasram, Tom Arthur Davis, David Mesiha, & Gavan Cheema
Written by Jivesh Parasram & Tom Arthur Davis
Directed by David Mesiha & Gavan Cheema
Music & Sound Design by David Mesiha
Accessibility Consultant: Amy Amantea
Performer: Jivesh Parasram
SummerWorks Workshop Performers: Tsholo Khalema, Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, & Sally Zori
Special thanks to Tim Carlson for original script dramaturgy
“Drew me into a space of both discomfort and awareness… As my body felt the simulated crash of a wave, I saw the luminous light of the moon and felt caught in that breathless void between hope and despair, between stamina and surrender.”
Kristy Kassie | Vocal Eye
Production History
January 2025 • PuSh International Performing Arts Festival • Vancouver, BC
August 2021 • SummerWorks Performance Festival • Toronto, ON
Supporters
This project has been made possible through the generous support of PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, SummerWorks Performance Festival, Why Not Theatre, Theatre Conspiracy, The Cultch, Touchstone Theatre, Crow’s Theatre, Volcano Theatre, Suitcase in Point, the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Government of Canada, The City of Vancouver, Metro Vancouver, and the Hamber Foundation.
