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When you've escaped war in three separate East African countries, finding a public toilet in Hackney might not seem like the biggest of struggles. But this collection of stories from London refugees offers insights into little niggles, as well as vast traumas: from the agony of wasted, rootless days, to the irritation of having to cross the road to escape the enticing smell of the kebabs you can't afford.
These stories have been gathered at workshops for refugee writers, as part of the Young Vic's Taking Part programme. They’re brought to life by a charismatic collection of performers, who seem to match the authors’ personalities, age, ethnic backgrounds and accents seamlessly. Spoken word artist and poet Deanna Rodger has crafted the first half skilfully, weaving together the stories of three men's experiences. They spark off each other, the actors all nodding in agreement, or gasping in horror at significant moments in each others' stories. Two have harrowing stories of homophobia in their respective home countries of Jamaica and Pakistan, while the third recalls escaping soldiers and life as a political prisoner.
There's an authenticity here, however much it's been pummelled into shape by Rodger, which jars a little with the lyrical fantasy of the second act. Tamara McFarlane's original story is incredibly evocative, full of warmth for the matriarchal community and rich landscapes of Jamaica. But it's also basically an overwrought love story, a fantastical ode to a beautiful girl she knew at school. And its naïve sweetness feels at odds with the huge dangers at stake here.
But if the evening doesn't quite hang together, it shouldn't be a surprise. There's no one common refugee experience, and where a gay asylum seeker might experience life in London as a singing liberation, where for a former political prisoner, it's an unbearable dislocation, a disempowering trap. What this performance does, and does brilliantly, is find poetry in the gaps between huge trauma and the mundanity of life in safety.