Occident Express (for Three Actors)

Description

Occident Express (for Three Actors)

by Matei Vișniec

Translated from the French by Nick Awde

(No. 3 in the Equal Stages series)

“I don’t know why, but you Westernise faster when you live in the West than when you live at home.”

When is not a migrant a migrant? When is not a border a border? Hop aboard Matei Vișniec’s bitter-sweet journey and join the Eastern Europeans whose destination is the Western Dream. War veteran, musician, sex worker, actor, informer, like a reverse Orient Express they form a train of characters in search of their fortune. Some stay in the East and travel to the West in their minds. The many who depart put their faith in a one-way ticket to second-class citizenship and fractured identity – but at least they might earn enough money to build a big new empty house back home that they can visit every August.

A play based on scenes as modules to be re-arranged by the director and cast, this is the English language version of Vișniec’s large ensemble play, rewritten for three actors. It explores the challenges faced by EU citizens in post-Communist societies – internal migration, invisible borders, cultural bafflement and fractured identities.

Matei Vișniec is a playwright, poet, writer and journalist. Born in Romania, he moved to France in 1987 where he obtained political asylum. He worked for a year in the UK for the Romanian section of the BBC World Service before settling in France where he he worked for 32 years as a journalist for the Romanian section of Radio France Internationale. He writes in Romanian and also French – plays include The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield in the Bosnian War, How to Explain the History of Communism to Mental Patients, Occident Express and Migraaants! (Or: There’s Too Many People on this Damn Boat). His work regularly finds new audiences and is performed all over the world in theatres and festivals, translated into many languages. He has also published collections of poetry, novels and children’s books. visniec.com

Nick Awde is a musician, artist, playwright, critic, journalist and producer. Based in the UK, he is a co-director of grassroots music venue Alhambra Live in Morecambe. Plays include Pete and Dud Come Again (with Chris Bartlett) and Khojaly: A Play about Surviving. Books include Equal Stages XL1 (diversity and inclusion in theatre), Mellotron, Women in Islam, and occasional translations of plays by other writers. As Nick Awde & Desert Hearts, music includes the albums In the Lap of the Goths and Songs for the Western Front. As part of Millennium Community Solutions, he works on free coding classes, digital assistive technology awareness and accessibility for buildings. Much of his other work focuses on language/cultural genocide.

Contact:

For all inquiries, contact Nick Awde at nick@deserthearts.com / +44 (0)7961154590

112pp | paperback | £7.50 | Publication date 01 March 2025 | ISBN: 9781908755650