The Bunker, LondonThe Borderline theatre group’s timely satire is well-intentioned, but its funfair setting reduces it to baggy vaudevilleThis is a prime example of what you might call theatre of good intentions. It is performed by a multinational ensemble, many of whom are refugees, named Borderline after the title of their initial 2016 show described as “a satire of the Calais Jungle”. While I understand their desire, under the direction of Sophie NL Besse, to use comedy as a way of challenging officialdom’s hostile environment, this devised piece remains a ramshackle affair.The basic idea is to turn this subterranean Southwark theatre into a funfair with the actors taking on the role of stallholders, clowns and musicians and inviting the audience to blow up balloons. But it is a loose format, confusingly combined with that of a circus, that is largely a means of showcasing a number of sketches. One or two items hit home. A game of Home Office bingo suggests that the granting of residency depends on the cruelty of chance. The suffocating nature of do-gooding liberalism is also caught through the sight of a refugee being bound and gagged while his benefactor merrily chirps songs from Mary Poppins. Continue reading…
Via: Welcome to the UK review – fancy a game of Home Office bingo?
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