“LAUGHTER is the tonic, the relief, the surcease from pain,” so said Charlie Chaplin. Performing duo Quentin Wuyts and Amandine Coucke, have been living by these words, offering a moment of poetry, a bubble of laughter and a return to childhood to those fleeing violence and insecurity. Wuyts and Coucke are a performing duo who are currently in Durban and on Thursday, with the help of the Refugee Social Services (RSS), they performed at the Diakonia for a group of refugee children.
Their play Nez du Monde, meaning ‘Born into this World’ is about reception and integration and was inspired by the influx of refugees in Europe. It started with a tour to about 15 centers for asylum seekers in Belgium.
“We are from Belgium and have been hitch hiking around the world for the past four years. On our current trip, we left Belgium 14 months ago, then travelled Europe and then we went to Malaysia and now we are in South Africa. It has taken us a year to get here. Our goal initially, when we left Belgium, was to head to Turkey and play for the Syrian children refugees staying on the border. We performed in a multitude of centers for asylum seekers and refugee camps to share laughter and unique moments,” said Coucke.
“We play for kids at refugee camps and centres, for children with disabilities, children in hospital and at schools in rural areas. Through the generosity of the people of Malaysia and the Red Cross, we manged to fly from Singapore to Johannesburg. We have been in South Africa for two months. From Johannesburg we went to Cape Town and performers at various venues around there. We followed the coast to Port Elizabeth and now we are in Durban. From here we will be hitch hiking back to Belgium, by going through some African countries,” added Wuyts.
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For the duo, their biggest lesson from their travels has been the love and welcome they have received from people they have met. “The reception has been great, everywhere we have played. The way that we travel is totally without money, we hitch hike everywhere we go. We have met different cultures through laughter, living only on exchange and sharing. It is a way of living and proving that humanity triumphs over everything,” said Coucke.
Although their choice of travelling might be intimidating to most, Wuyts said: “I like being on the road, the thumb strained to discover the unknown. Every door that opens is an invitation to meet someone new. Day after day, I open up a little more to the world around me. I learn about myself and others. The lands and the men of the world have so much to offer us that it is impossible for me to put down my suitcases. Nomadic, I belong only in the heart of man.”
Coucke said travelling meant meeting different people from all walks of life.
“I like to hear the story of men, to immerse myself in their lives for a few moments, like a novel that I read through the eyes of people I met. I travel for the love of men and the beauty of the world. I have faith in this human nature and will follow to the end the star that offers me this wandering energy,” she said.
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