THEATRE: THE ARRIVAL

It has been described not as an immigrant story, but the immigrant story. Shaun Tan’s The Arrival grapples with the notion of ‘belonging’, a theme that he says has preoccupied him throughout all his works (The Rabbits, The Lost Thing, The Red Tree). As a half-Chinese Australian growing up in Perth, he was constantly asked, “Where are you from?” And, “Here,” seemed a troublesome answer. The Arrival follows one man’s journey from a home with wife and child, to an unknown land with almost unimaginable hardships. “It is ultimately uplifting, but he has to go through a whole lot of incredible personal challenges to get there,” says Julie Nolan, one of the creators of its stage adaptation for the Sydney Festival. A picturebook turned theatrical production? “People said … how the hell are you going to do it? But to us it seemed very obvious … Theatrically, it’s challenging, [and] we loved the idea of creating a strong story without words.” Tan’s version is wordless, and the physical incarnation stays true to that. Luckily, as Nolan points out, it’s a visual feast – combined with a truly potent story with universal themes that all can relate to. “We keep enriching the story by connecting with migrant communities everywhere we go … People need to have more compassion for people, what people go through when they have to leave their homes.” The Arrival – a journey worth taking.  

Jan 10-17, Carriageworks, 245 Wilson St, Eveleigh, $15-100 (family), sydneyfestival.org.au