Snakes and ladders

The most important news, which has made everyone very excited, is that the play is complete, and that we now have bound copies to work from (I was able to set my trusty binding machine going – as Robin, who is effectively our co-ordinator and enabler for this project, has pointed out, a binder is a most valuable piece of kit.)  The play is called Snakes and ladders, a reference to the haphazard journey that so many asylum-seekers are forced to undertake.

It has taken a little bit of nudging to get Hamed to complete his play.  I have provided a few short sections – an embracing structure for the piece, which gives it a beginning and an end; and a section which explains the context of the truck journey from Sarajevo to Italy – I felt Hamed had missed a trick in failing to convey the true horror of that experience.

In addition, my daughter Mary, who is an A & E doctor, tweaked a scene in which a health professional has to deal with a panic attack, which I felt needed some authenticity.  But the piece as a whole is absolutely Hamed’s work, and tells the story of his journey from Iran to Europe.  Cleverly, it is not told as a straightforward narrative, but sets the story in two time- frames: the journey itself, told in a series of flashbacks, and his interviews about this in London, with both a customs official and a therapist (with the wraparound structure adding a third.)

The section that I was keen for Hamed to address as a conclusion to his piece was a reflection back on  it from his perspective now, and addressing the issue of whether he thought all of the struggle, all of the sacrifices and dangers along the way, was worth it… would he do it again?  I will leave it to you to see the play, and to hear his conclusion for yourself.  (Or if you cannot, I will refer to it later.)

In my opinion, it is an excellent piece of work, which gives the audience all sorts of insight into aspects they had never thought of before.  Despite what I have said above, it is not yet completely finished.  In his play, the journey ends in Italy, with the final section of the move to Calais and the crossing to England left out.  But actually, I think this is a good thing.  In this version, the play is relatively short and manageable, at about 45 minutes or so.  But it also allows for a second act, dealing with the missing section, before returning to the ending wer already have, Hamed reflecting on his journey.

As I have said, the arrival of the scripts was greeted warmly, and we spent the rest of the session (somewhat foreshortened, because of lateness) simply reading the play.  I was a little disappointed, as I know that sometimes such an activity is a way of deflecting one from the real business of getting down to rehearse, and we are pretty short of time.  On the other hand, it was pretty important for everyone to share with the discovery of the full script , including the ending.

The other really good news that has developed since that rehearsal is that we are moving towards firming up a performance date (or even maybe two.)  The original proposal was that we could perform at a Refugee Awareness festival  being run by Brent Council, but it quickly became apparent that tbis would not be suitable, being the same sort of vibrant, family-based event that we had attended at the Migrant Connections festival in Streatham two years ago – wonderful in itself, but not appropriate for a thoughtful theatre performance.  Fortunately, both Matilda and Cristina, the lady co-ordinating this event, agree, so we have been looking for an alternative.  And it seems that this might have come about!

I am not exactly sure of the details, but I think that Camden, a different council, is also organising a different refugee event in Finchley, with an exhibition, a discussion… and now, quite possibly, our theatre performance as well.  This seems to include set-up and rehearsal time there, plus a performance on either the 17^th or 18^th.  It has been arranged that Matilda and I will go to see the space next week, but all seems good.

Plus there is another possibility.  Liz Hingley is an artist and activist who worked with the people last year on the Bibby Stockholm on creating a specific set of art works.  There she met Roji (of course) and he has spoken with her about finding a theatre space in collaboration with an  exhibition she is holding in a Kings College space on the Strand.  And this might be another performance on the 20^th.  I am speaking with her later today to see if there is any mileage in this.

All very exciting!