Dance performance outside Liverpool Street Station to mark 85 years since Kindertransport - The Jewish Chronicle

A new dance-theatre production outside Liverpool Street Station this weekend will mark 85 years since the UK welcomed nearly 10,000 Jewish children on the Kindertransport.

Billed as “a powerful exploration of displacement, movement and being forced to find a new home”, the 35-minute show From Here On, by the theatre company Good Chance, brings history to life alongside global stories of children seeking safety now.

A spokesperson for Good Chance, said: “The fact that 2024 marks 85 years since the last train arrived at Liverpool Street Station, we realised that this is one of the last remaining anniversaries in which some of the Kinder will still be able to say: this happened to me, I was there.”

They added: “In this time of unprecedented global conflict, of increasing antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-immigration sentiment, the lessons we’ve already learnt from the past are being dramatically forgotten. It feels more important than ever to mark this courageous people’s act of safe passage and to understand what it can teach us about forced displacement and routes to safety now.”

From Here On, a dance about the Kindertransport, which will be performed outside Liverpool Street Station (Photo: Good Chance/Gecko/Malachy Luckie)[Missing Credit]

They said said that the Kindertransport, led by ordinary people from charities and voluntary organisations working together to bring Jewish children to the UK from Nazi-occupied Europe, “shows us how powerful individuals and communities can be in making real change”.

“The Kindertransport was an incredible act of empathy by citizens who acted – before the authorities did – to help thousands of Jewish children escape. But it was also complex – not only did the Kindertransport face strong opposition, but newly arrived refugees were subject to discrimination as they began to create a life in the UK.

They added: “Speaking to Kindertransport refugees and those who have sought sanctuary more recently, it’s clear just how important empathy, welcome and community are supporting them as they make a new life. We’re inviting performers and audiences to reflect on how big – and small – acts of kindness can have a huge impact.”

The narrative follows five different children who have all sought sanctuary in the UK, from the Kindertransport in 1945 until today. The show is performed by 40 local young people from Jewish, and refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds, alongside ten professional dancers. That the performers are from a diverse range of backgrounds, nationalities and experiences is key to the work.

From Here On dance about the Kindertransport, which will be performed outside Liverpool Street Station (Photo:Good Chance/Gecko/Malachy Luckie)[Missing Credit]

“It was important to us from the very beginning that young people particularly from Jewish and refugee/asylum seeking backgrounds were part of the cast, as they and their families have the lived experience of many of the stories being depicted," said the spokesperson. "We’re so excited to be bringing these young people together to tell stories of safe passage through the shows – and equally excited that we’ll then be working with them to become changemakers in their own communities through our legacy programme to co-create their own talks and events.”

Directed by Israeli-born Amit Lahav, Gecko’s artistic director, the performers in the show use movement, both illustrative and more abstract, and emotion to tell the story. Instead of dialogue typically associated with theatre, audiences can expect to hear multiple languages and a “deeply evocative” soundtrack. This the creators hope will draw those from all backgrounds and nationalities to find a personal connection to the piece.

From Here On, a dance, which will be performed outside Liverpool Street Station, to mark 85 years since the arrival of the Kindertransport (Photo: Good Chance/Gecko/Malachy Luckie)[Missing Credit]

The company has previously told stories of displacement in large-scale theatre spaces and public outdoor settings in The Jungle and The Walk with Amal.

From Here On is on Friday 6 and Sunday 8 September, at 11am, 1.15pm, 3.30pm and 5.40pm. For more information, click here

Topics:

Kindertransport

Dance