Fringe 2025 – Life in One Suitcase
This music and dance performance tells the deeply moving story of Ukrainian people who fled their home after the start of the war. At the heart of the performance is a suitcase. Simple, yet deeply symbolic. Children and adults share their experiences of leaving home, saying goodbye, and beginning again in a new country. Inside every suitcase is a life.
The piece offers audiences a window into the emotional world of displaced Ukrainians, told in their own voices and shaped by their courage and imagination. They express themes of love, loss, and the promise of tomorrow, demonstrating how creativity helps them process change and find joy amid uncertainty.
Presented by Mission of Innocents. Creative direction by Oksana Saiapina. With support from the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain (Edinburgh). Special thanks to Anthony Alderson and Pleasance Theatre Trust for making this special event possible.
Mission of Innocents is a grassroots initiative that nurtures the healing and self-worth of children displaced by war, economic or political instability and environmental disasters. Through arts-based programming it offers young people tools for healing, expression, and empowerment through music, dance, storytelling, poetry and the visual arts. Since its founding, the initiative has provided ongoing support and a sense of belonging to resettled Ukrainian children and families in Scotland. The charity was founded by Joyce Landry and began on board two ships docked in Leith and Glasgow to house Ukrainian refugees after the full scale invasion.
LIFE IN ONE SUITCASE AT EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE 2025
15 AUGUST 2025 | 15:30 | 60 mins | PLEASANCE EICC (PENTLAND THEATRE)
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