Written by Bosnian war survivor Aida Haughton MBE and New Vic Borderlines Director Sue Moffat, My Thousand Year Old Land (A Song for BiH) will be performed this January to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day.
The documentary play, based on survivor testimonies from the genocide and war crimes that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, will have two performances on Monday 23 January at 2.15pm and 7.30pm.
It takes place ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day on Friday 27 January, which this year has the theme ‘Ordinary People’, fitting with the play’s focus on the impact of these events on everyday lives.
My Thousand Year Old Land (A Song for BiH) is a story of the search for truth, justice and hope told through three generations of women, accompanied by traditional folk songs and poetry. Writers Aida Haughton MBE and Sue Moffat visited Bosnia and heard survivors’ stories to inform the play, which uses some of their verbatim speech performed by the actors, as well as audio recordings.
New Vic Borderlines Director Sue Moffat said: “This production builds on the important work done at the New Vic in creating a shared safe space to build understanding and empathy within and between communities. It reminds us that even in the hardest of times truth, justice and hope are shared ambitions, compelling each of us to make a difference. Theatre is a humanising communal experience which inspires us to go back out into our communities and plant seeds of hope and peace.”
The show will coincide with other events taking place internationally as part of Holocaust Memorial Day, an annual occasion to encourage remembrance in a world scarred by genocide.
My Thousand Year Old Land (A Song for BiH) takes to the New Vic stage on Monday 23 January 2023 at 2.15pm and 7.30pm. Tickets are on sale now, priced at £10.00. For more information and to book call the Box Office on 01782 717962 or online here.
You can watch the live stream of the play back here, it starts 26 minutes and 48 seconds into the video: