Searching for Innocence
Cambodia
This play is written around the story of Cambodian Poet Chath Pier Sath, who, as a young boy, had been taken from his parents and suffered in the idealized agrarian community imagined by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. Years later, Mr. Pier Sath and his fellow countrymen again found themselves transformed by good intentions after the United Nations’ intervention in Cambodia. The well paid masses of foreign non-government workers caused such inflationary pressure that Cambodians could no longer afford to live in their country. Some resorted to selling their own daughters for prostitution—a market suddenly made available by the influx of foreigners.
Through the non-fiction narrative of the main character, the play provides a privileged view into this unprecedented period of history. “Searching for Innocence” confronts the unimaginable first hand. After being performed in the United States, the production of “Searching for Innocence” is looking to return to the source of its inspiration, the capital city of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Cultural Immersion Experience
International Travel
The trip begins in the city of Phnom Penh, whose vibrancy offers a vivid contrast to its genocide museum at Tuol Slang, which recalls a time when the entire city had been emptied by the Khmer Rouge. Among the many sights and sounds of the capital city, the group will meet with a variety of NGO workers to learn about life on the front-line of what remains one of the most cared for countries in the world. Then, the trip continues up the Mekong to witness one of the greatest manifestations of ancient civilization, the temples of Angkor Watt.
Peform Searching For Innocence
We know the story of Cambodia mostly through history books and news reports. “Searching for Innocence” provides a firsthand view of sweeping historic events. The script is available through standard royalty arrangements. World Communities can also contract to produce the show. For those interested, World Communities will create an international travel experience to Cambodia which we will host. Educational institutions, theaters, or other groups interested in creating an even broader cultural exchange can partner with World Communities to produce the play in the United States, then take that same production to Cambodia.