“We can Learn Anything with Patience”

Ensemble Artist, Mo Sarrar, a member of Sounds of Refuge, whose album is out to buy right now, talks about meeting Good Chance and the importance of music to his life.

My first job was 12 years ago in Sudan. I worked in a car-parts shop, where I dealt with customers. It was a job I enjoyed as it introduced me to many people. I was new to the motor trade, but I quickly received training from one of the other workers in the shop. 

Although I was grateful for the job, I would have liked to be doing the things I love most such as teaching music and drumming. I grew up drumming and it is a part of my life – I want to get other people involved.

Music is the only thing that connect us with each other around the world, it is the only language that everyone could understand.

I believe that there is no language to express our feelings but music, I listen to different song from a lot of countries and cultures, I love that Iranian song Age Ye Rooz by Framarz Aslani.

My opportunity to perform came about in 2015 when I became a refugee in the Calais Jungle, where two UK playwrights, Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson, had set up Good Chance Theatre, which I joined as a musician and singer.

We stayed in touch and when I got to the UK, I was invited to take part in the first R&D workshop for what became the sold-out, acclaimed production of The Jungle…

It was in Calais that I first saw Milan singing in Persian and I totally fell in love with his voice, and then we found ourselves performing together to sold-out audiences in the UK and USA. You can hear us play in the Coventry Dome here.

What to hear more about Mo? Read more in this incredible piece written by Amy Reade for The Curran earlier this year.

Here’s an extract:

In his home town, Mohamed had worked as a wedding singer in his spare time. He told me that music was in his blood: his uncle is a famous singer in Sudan (“the Ambassador of Sudanese Songs”) and his parents supported and ‘believed in my voice’.

After leaving Sudan he travelled through Libya to the coast where he was held by smugglers while he waited to cross the Mediterranean.