Gut-kicking physical performance with humour, poetry and the horrors of being a child soldier, Far Gone comes to the VAULT Festival later this spring. Book your tickets now!
The one-man show, written and performed by John Rwoth-Omack, runs at The Vaults from 17-22 March 2020.
“If I invited you to come with me on a journey, a story, will you come with me?”
Far Gone follows the life of Okumu, an innocent boy living with a good family in Northern Uganda. When his village is attacked by Joseph Kony’s Lords Resistance Army (LRA), Okumu and his brother are captured and their lives are forever changed. We follow Okumu through this transformation from boy to child soldier. The boy struggles to fit into the bush life he’s been forced into until one day an unexpected visitor appears.
The play also explores how historically political and religious decisions made by western powers contributed to civil wars in Africa which in turn gave birth to the existence of a child soldier.
Rwoth-Omack’s drama was originally devised in Sheffield Theatres’ Making Room and had its debut at Theatre Deli in 2019. It went on to tour Sheffield in 2019, including performances at the Crucible Studio.
Sheffield audience responses to Far Gone
Still thinking about @RwothOmack’s show #FarGone @theatredelishef last night and the brilliant Q&A afterwards. Words can’t explain in one tweet. Excited for the show to grow over 3 more nights! get to see it if you can. pic.twitter.com/RIg6u5eLfN
— Sarah Sharp (@SarahSharp22) May 30, 2019
#FarGone at Theatre Deli is another must see.
Brilliant one man show, with a deftness you won’t forget. pic.twitter.com/Hbj0BTg1yM
— John J Tomlinson (@johnjtomlinson) May 30, 2019
People of Sheffield and beyond. Go see the amazing @RwothOmack in Far Gone. Follow a childs journey of being taken by the LRA in Uganda. Powerful, horrifying yet performed with such compassion. Standing ovation last night so deserved 👏🖤https://t.co/hljIdGHQ4A #FarGone
— Ishah Jawaid (@IshahJawaid) May 30, 2019
Rwoth-Omack’s play is inspired by personal experience. As an eight-year-old growing up in Uganda, he heard gunshots in the distance and was told the LRA was coming. They didn’t make it to his village, but the experience, understandably, stayed with him. His family moved to Sheffield and, when he was at drama school in London, an American documentary about Kony triggered him to create a story exploring his homeland.
In addition to creating and starring in Far Gone, Rwoth-Omack worked as Assistant Director on Sheffield Theatre’s The Last King of Scotland and directed Paul Sirett’s Bad Blood Blues at Theatre Deli.
In Far Gone, Rwoth-Omack is directed by Moji Elufowoju, founder of Utopia Theatre and founding member of Mosaic Opera Collective. Her previous projects include Three Sisters (National Theatre), How Far Apart (Arcola Theatre) and The Bogus Woman (Camden People’s Theatre)
VAULT Festival, which runs until 22 March 2020, is “London’s biggest, boldest and wildest arts and entertainment festival”. In addition to Far Gone, the festival hosts an incredibly eclectic collection of productions including continent-crossing tale of self-discovery Apple, Kafka-inspired tale of otherness Red Peter and The Ballerina, described as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Heart of Darkness.
Watch the Sheffield trailer for Far Gone
