This isn’t going to be a post that is in line with my usual posts, but I just need to share this with you all. Last week I watched The Jungle, a play set in the Calais Jungle telling the story of the creation and destruction of the Calais Jungle and the refugee communities who lived there, at the Playhouse in London and it was so powerful, I feel I need to share with everyone about it. The Jungle were kind enough to send me copies of their production photos, taken by Marc Brenner, to use within this post.
“The Jungle tells stories of loss, fear, community and hope, of the Calais refugee and migrant camp’s creation – and of its eventual destruction. Join the residents over freshly baked naan and sweet milky chai at the Afghan Café, and experience the intense, moving and uplifting encounters between refugees from many different countries and the volunteers who arrived from the UK.”
I first hear of the play while listening to The Guilty Feminist podcast, I’d listened to their episode with the writers and some of the actors of the show, which you can listen to here The Guilty Feminist Story and The Jungle Podcast , at the time of first listening to it I was interested, but unlikely to be in London any times to see it, but turns out I was going to London couple weeks later and booked straight away (since seeing the play I have listened to the podcast various times since).
For those who don’t know about this play, let me just give you a bit of background information about the show, and how it came around. The show’s writers Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson established the Good Chance theatre in 2015 in The Jungle, where they lived for 7 months, so there could be a space for people to express themselves through the arts, and since have expanded. The words “good chance” you here often throughout the play, a phrase used by the refugees in the Jungle when they thought it would be a good night to leave the Jungle and get to the UK. You can learn more about Good Chance Theatre by clicking here . The piece follows the lives of men, women and children living in the Calais Jungle, some British volunteers, but mostly Refugees from places including but not limited to Sudan, Afghanistan, Syria and Enitrea. It tells the story of what bought them all to The Jungle, how they got there and plan to get out, along with with the attitude of the French authorities towards the Jungle. Some of the actors are themselves refugees, and lived in The Jungle.
The first thing that hit me when I walked into the theatre to take my seat was the staging, the stalls had been removed with the stage almost on a traverse, the whole theatre was built to look like a Afghan Restaurant, that had been built in the jungle – a restaurant that was given a four star review in The Times. When I booked my tickets I didn’t choose my seat I just was given the best seat for the price range I had selected and therefore was unaware of the staging of the play, I was sat on the front row of the White Cliffs of Dover, which was what would usually be the dress circle so I was looking down onto this café, where before the show some of the actors were handing out cups of tea to audience members. A false ceiling had also been built in, continuing this allusion of being in the restaurant not a London theatre, this also played a part in the phenomenal lighting that was used throughout the performance.
There is so much that I do want to say about this play, but I really don’t know how or where to start, I don’t want to write too much and make this more of a review or synopsis of the play but, I also don’t want to write too little and not give the show the justice it deserves. Saying that however, when I left the theatre that night I felt almost shell shocked and could not talk, I texted home to say that I was on way back to my Airbnb and will let them know when I was inside, and the only thing I could say at the time about the show was that I had no words.
“I have never seen anything so powerful and emotive as what The Jungle London was this evening. I have so much to say, and yet I am left with no words. Thank you to everyone involved.”
There were so many elements to this this show that struck so many emotional cords, of happiness, of devastation of anger, and everything in between. Although it is awful both that people need to flee their homes in the first place, and the treatment of refugees and the ordeal they go through to be safe, this is a story of hope, and community, people from all nations coming together, there’s a scene where the actors are all on stage performing for each other, celebrating almost, showing off dances, music, songs, martial arts and other art forms from their culture, and I think that is what makes it so much more powerful.
Although this piece was an ensemble piece, no lead roles as such, there are a few characters and relationships that I’d like to commend and comment upon. The first is Safi, the speaker for the Syrian people and the narrator of the show, literature graduate in his home city of Aleppo, a self described story teller, Ammar Haj Ahmad portrayed this role in a way I can’t describe, being both interweaved throughout the characters’ lives, but also breaking the dialogue to talk directly to the audience. I would usual say breaking the fourth wall, but due to the nature and staging, The Jungle goes further than being immersive theatre, it is next level, and therefore no fourth wall to break.
Although there is a young girl as part of the cast, who heartbreakingly, and single handily portrays how children have been affected by this crisis as it’s been called, but there are two characters that stand out, especially in my mind, how the young lives have been affected. First we have Norullah, played by Mohammad Amiri, and second Okot played by John Pfumojena, who also composed the powerful music that accompanies the play. These young men, no boys, teens, separately tell different stories of the life a migrant lives, and together a story of racism, acceptance, community and brotherhood. There are only a few moments in the whole show where Norullah isn’t full of life, he’s excitable, hopeful, and in my eyes having an adventure, yes maybe not one he ever wanted part of, but was making the most of it, loud and positive, like what a teenaged boy should be.
Okot however was the complete other side, there’s a moment where Okot tells Beth, a young volunteer from England, that a refugee dies multiple times, in a powerful monologue that stunned the whole theatre into silence, about how he is dead, and his spirt broken, even though he was there standing in front of her. He tells of the pain and difficulty he had making his journey to Calais, a single voice, a darkened room, standing still in the middle of the stage, complete contrast to how Norullah had told of his journey, jumping around, acting it out getting excited and telling it as a great adventure, cleverly disguised as an English lesson. The boys meet and instantly become enemies, Norullah calling Okot ‘the black boy’, but through the performance they become brothers.
This message of how young lives are affected is made more relatable by the interjection of Sam, played by Alex Lawther, a posh British boy, similar age to Norullah and Norullah. His background holds a mirror up to our own lives things we may take for granted, at one point he mentions he may spend a night in a hotel, have a bath, watch Netflix. Things you and I probably take for granted, but are unavailable to those refugees, it’s against the law in France for a refugee to stay in a hotel.
Another thing that really opened my eyes during the play was the use of real news videos and photos, things people have seen – there was a lot that the media did not show the world of The Jungle so unaware to what was really happening – and I fear with out these clips, the photo of the toddler on the beach, and new clips from the night of the Paris attacks, some audience members would not put the show into real terms, it’ll just be another story.
Having been working on a RoRo ferry going into France the morning after the Paris attacks, and being on a ship that had to leave port early in Italy due to a coastguard rescue boat coming in, and what I witnessed them days, along with the interest with human geography I thought I a grasp of what was going on in Calais, but I was so wrong. This play showed me there was so much I was blind to. Little things, like everyone having a phone and internet, media portrays refugees and countries from where they originate as underdeveloped and helpless, but that is the complete opposite, and this show shows that.
As said before there is so much I could write, if I could and had the time I would write about every character, every relationship dynamic, every moment of blocking, everyone’s story, every actor everyone behind the scene I would, but I can’t, so I’m going to start rounding off here. I’d like to again, thank everyone involved in the production, I really hope that you get the recognition deserved.
I urge everyone to go and see this show, it’s on till the 3rd of November, and 40% of tickets are £25 or under to make it accessible for as many people as possible. You can learn more about the show and buy tickets at The Jungle Play website. Please please please if you can go. I know I recommend shows to people a lot but this is THE MOST powerful theatre piece I have ever seen.
Again if you missed them throughout the post below is some links to check out if you want to find out more information.
Elle's Adventures 