GDIF 2022: Final Farewell – Tara Theatre / Island Gardens, London

A review of Final Farewell, a mindful audio walk commemorating pandemic loss, taking place in Island Gardens as part of the Greenwich + Docklands International Festival.

Final Farewell

The period of national mourning following Queen Elizabeth’s death has meant some quick decision making on the part of many creative professionals. What is to stay open? What should shut down as a mark of respect? With so many festivals on right now in London this is even more acute. I attended Peaceophobia on the day of the Queen’s death, with a statement read out to mark and reflect on the occasion. Two days later, the programme of Greenwich + Docklands International Festival (GDIF) looks rather different. Only Peaceophobia and this work, Final Farewell, remain on the performance calendar. Given the circumstances, their reflective nature sets an appropriate tone.

So what is this reflective work all about? Final Farewell is an audio walk from Tara Theatre, a company who specialise in nurturing and supporting South Asian talent. The writer of Final Farewell is Sudha Bhuchar, who listened to first hand accounts from those who lost loved ones during the pandemic, and crafted four stories from them. The work was first staged in 2021 (possibly the only cultural activity I didn’t come across? Not sure how I missed it…). Now it is back on tour, with GDIF as the penultimate stop before the tour ends in Hornchurch.

The set up is quite simple. You bring your own phone and headphones, or MP3 players are available for those who need them. You scan a QR code to access a website with walking instructions and audio tracks, and are given a printed map as a backup. The walk takes you around Island Gardens and lasts 76 minutes. There are specific spots to start and stop each walk. You then finish in a contemplative spot in front of a tree-like sculture, bedecked with personal reactions and memories. Volunteers are on hand to troubleshoot and ensure you find your way.

A Mindful Rather Than Site-Specific Experience

I talked the other day about Peaceophobia, which is about young Bradford men and their cars, being site-specific. It’s not quite true, in the sense that this is another work on tour. But the key part is that the location – a car park – relates to the subject. Final Farewell, while having instructions about where to walk and where to be while listening, is also not quite site-specific. Apart from a connection to location during the story of Baby Han, the walking feels more meditative. I found it quite a mindful activity, walking along the Thames, through parks and stopping in a church while listening to these deeply personal stories.

And personal they are. Told in the first person, we hear from three people and a dog, all of whom died during the early stages of the pandemic. Not necessarily due to Covid, but in the context of the confusion and complexity and isolation that it created. Even the story of Obi the pug reminds us how important companionship and routine were to many of us in those anxious times. I found the stories deeply affecting. Bhuchar has a way of creating immediacy and connection with the listener, drawing us into each person’s world in turn. And then the absence they left behind.

Today is the last day to catch Final Farewell at GDIF. It’s free to book, so try to get along if you can. For me it was a reminder of that time, and that for all those who lost loved ones it is not necessarily something they have left behind. An important message of love, and loss, and certainly a reflective way to spend some time during this rather sombre period.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5

Final Farewell on until 11 September 2022 as part of GDIF