There is a lot going on in Transit, a 45 minute show from Halfpace Theatre Company, staged at The Space in Limehouse.
It follows three migrants across a series of scenes which, while seeming unconnected, give a sense of the isolation, lack of identity, and bureaucratic red tape those seeking to live in a country other than that of their birth experience.
The performers – Aijamal Nova, Bethany Monk-Lane, Mikko Juan, Niamh Smith and Ting-Ning Wen – have devised a piece which foregrounds suitcases, paperwork, and some interesting uses of technology from endurance games to video calls.
Scrolling text often suggests intrusive questions when entering a country, and scenes set in silence highlight the constant uprooting of lives which have to be reduced to the bare minimum of possessions.
Megan Brewer’s direction and design from Daria Vasko, Cheng Keng (lighting), Jamie Lu (sound) and He Zhang (video) gives a claustrophobic and cool feel to the plight of those seeking work, looking to travel, just wanting to get on with their lives.
The colour palette of whites, greys and cardboard echoes accusations of terrorist sympathies, and journeys to who knows where.
The work of movement director Monica Nicolaides, who focuses all the physical interactions between the three characters we see on stage, and of composer Austin Yang, whose music features throughout, also needs to be mentioned.
What Transit wants to tell us is that these are people first and foremost, with their own needs and attachments.
People need places to settle and feel wanted, and in a world where migrants are often demonised as easy targets depleting the economy, stealing our jobs, and being anti-British, it feels as if this show has landed at just the right time.
Three years ago I reviewed a production at Vault Festival called Border Control, produced by Hack Theatre and concentrating on relationships ripped apart by immigration assessors and tick-box forms.
It would seem that in Transit and other recent shows like The Foreigners Panto we are still seeing the same issues blocking the acceptance of those who could and should enrich our culture.
Transit is available to watch as a digital stream from The Space, with booking here.
***.5
Image credit: Danny Kaan