by Laura Kressly

In the Stanley Arts bar, Kassi, Ali, and Daphne hype up the audience for the arrival of a group of refugees. They’ve organised a welcoming party but plans change when only one person, Zain, arrives. He’s initially unenthusiastic about being the centre of attention. With some coaxing after hiding the main performance space, he shares his journey from Sudan using puppetry, dance, and narration. The promenade family show is inclusively crafted with striking design, but doesn’t romanticise his journey or patronise family audiences.

The ensemble cast of four – Adi Detemo, Kassichana Okene-Jameson, Mohamed Sarrar and Vivian Triantafyllopoulou – skilfully blend narration, dance and movement in short scenes to capture key moments of Zain’s story. Of these, his farewell with his mother (a puppet designed by Naomi Oppenheim), a precarious sailing on a boat packed with life vests, and his arrival in Calais’ jungle are the most moving. These are contrasted by a harsher, more immersive end where the audience experiences what it’s like to navigate the deliberately cruel, inhumane Home Office processes needed to claim asylum. This can cause intense and panicky reactions in some, so it is less suitable for younger children. Though there are plenty of ushers and performers on hand, it could be quite scary for littler ones.

Director Sue Buckmaster uses the whole of Stanley Arts large hall to great effect. There is space to move around, and seating and standing options enable people to move for the sake of comfort and/or better sight lines. What is initially set up as a refurbishment is gradually revealed otherwise through canny use of plastic sheeting and metal rolling cages of the kind used to move kit and tools. Though there’s a resourceful, DIY aesthetic, Simon Daw’s considered design is utilised to its fullest in extremely clever and surprising ways.

It initially seems impossible that the hardest of hearts would not see Zain and the rest of the ensemble as fellow people deserving respect and safety. Yet, underpinning the entire concept of welcome, and communal storytelling and experience, there’s a clear sense of somber knowing that there are many out there who don’t feel this way. This balance of light and dark, hope and realism, combines with its creative choices to great effect.

Journey of a Refugee runs through 18 February.

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