The Story

All was lost… 

We lifted our eyes, surveying the crumbling world that surrounded us. Everything that once seemed so certain had swiftly dissolved into the distant echoes of the past.

Starving, grimy, and ravaged, we are scouring our pockets for things that were once valuable to us - our keys, credit cards, paper bills…- only to cast them aside into the heap of uselessness. Here and now, none of them hold any significance. I have no idea how many of us are there, we banded into tribes, that is our only chance for survival.

Come nightfall, I hide beneath my blanket stitched from the remnants of my torn clothes, pressing the photograph to my chest that I cannot look at without tearing up as I quietly start chanting…

-the water in me, wants to break free

-the water in me, I embrace it,

-the fire in me, I am energy,

-the fire in me, wants to burn high,

-the Earth within me, I stick to what's mine,

-the Earth within me carries me on,

-the air within me, I'm on my way,

-the air within me, I am changing,

-I feel my body, I'm existing.

-Stars above me, I'm one and only.

As I fall asleep, they stand watch, guarding. I know they'll protect me. Our awareness must heighten; I detect scents, sights, and sensations more keenly than I have in years. I can feel instinctively when a stranger is approaching our refuge. Though they may be few, their presence triggers a strange familiarity that courses through me when our eyes meet. In an instant, our stories became one and our purpose became the same: Surviving every…single…day. 

But amidst the wreckage of everything we've lost, what is it that sustains us?

The mourning,

the rituals,

the stories,

the connections,

the fact that we do not let go of our dreams. The distinctions that once divided us have transformed into virtues, serving as valuable lessons. "What keeps us alive is that within a tribe everyone is a fighter in their own unique way." "Ultimately, every human fate is marked by both minor and major apocalypses. It is not just the external world that surrounds us; our personal tragedies also consume us from within. Yet, it is the belief that amidst the searing fire, there exists a cycle of renewal, essential for progress and survival. The strength of our community anchors us, reminding us to release, to endure, and to begin anew."

The Creator: Sophie Barbarics and the performers
Set and decor: Borbála Komesz
Music editor: Zsolt Torma
Video: Gábor Szabó

Sponsors: Pergőtűz Egyesület, Workshop Foundation