WELCOME TO THE UK

A review by Tanya Howard

PSYCHEdelight created Borderline, a satire of life in the Calais Jungle, performed by an ensemble of European and refugee actors. Welcome To The UK is their follow up, showcasing the experiences of asylum seekers when they make it to the UK, in the same satirical way as Borderline.

I applaud and commend the actors who are bringing their own experiences to the stage and highlighting the struggles and anguish they face. Sadly, I found the show rather confusing for the most part and did not get the chaotic set of a funfair with the actors taking on the role of stallholders, clowns and musicians rolling out skit after skit.

I’m not saying their stories didn’t hit home, and I think they should be told, but I think the show needs to look at a different concept and at adding a strong writer to their crew to be in the strongest position to tell their stories. I love that the theatre company gives them a voice, but my favourite part of the show was the Q&A held after which for me gave the audience so much more than the show itself.

Abdulrahman Salama spent the majority of the show sat atop a ladder, phone in hand, waiting hopelessly for news of when his family would join him in the UK (who I was glad to hear during the Q&A that after 3 years they have been) and it was such a poignant part of the play. Against the scattered backdrop of the funfair setting, with the UK being seen as a cheery funfair and the obstacles faced as rides, it was a stark reminder that this isn’t just fun and games.

These are important stories to be told, and this is undoubtedly admirable work, but the concept fell short for me. I loved hearing Debby Kareem tell her story in the Q&A with an incredible strength and it was really insightful to find out the true process of being a refugee in the UK. Did you know that they are given £5 a day to survive on, some not even getting it in cash but vouchers for specific shops, which leads a lot of women to enter into an abusive relationship just to survive, and yet they are not even truly surviving in that environment.

When the company goes on international tours they have to get stand ins for those of the cast that don’t yet have refugee status which means they can’t get a passport. Again, this was discussed in the Q&A and I would have happily sat and listened to them talk for hours to find out each and every cast member’s personal story. The company has the greatest of intentions and I think they will go far but I would leave the comedy behind and just take a stand and make the world listen to their stories.