Cork theatre show to be staged in Calais refugee camp

A one-off show about the plight of refugees, and featuring refugees, is to be staged at the Jungle refugee camp in Calais, France, such was the overwhelmingly positive reaction.

The show ‘No Borders’, featuring five short dramas and two poetry readings, was put together by theatre director John Hayes in Cork in a bid to raise funds for the Cork to Calais Refugee Solidarity Group.

A powerful evocation of the harrowing pain and danger suffered by innocent people forced to flee their homeland over persecution, it struck an emotional chord with the audience on its opening night in Camden Palace Theatre in Cork.

The director was urged to bring it to a wider audience, but didn’t expect it would include the Jungle camp in Calais, where 7,000 refugees live in tents on the site of a former rubbish tip.

“I put together the production to support Ireland Calais Refugee Solidarity Group, which was set up by Blarney woman Tracey Ryan,” said Mr Hayes.

“After the first performance, the reaction was so overwhelmingly positive people suggested we take it further afield.

“Tracey had heard about the reaction and now, I can’t believe it, but we are due to put it on in Calais in either January or February.

“This was a small show, a one-off, so I’m blown away. I have been a human rights activist for many years and this gave me the opportunity to combine my two interests.”

He said now that the show has taken on “a life of its own” they will seek funding next year to take it nationwide.

But next up is the show at Good Chance Theatre in the Calais refugee camp.

“It’s hard to gauge what the reaction will be. Presenting the show to someone as a reflection of their own experience is something I am nervous about. It is a big responsibility and it will be important we present it in a sensitive way,” he said.

“Hopefully, the refugees will appreciate that it shows that people around the world are thinking about them. I imagine it will be tough for them. We are telling them their own story, but also, artistically, we are showing that we care and are willing to work to bring their plight to the attention of the world.

“It is an act of solidarity and it is a massive honour for me and the whole team to be bringing it to the people it set out to help.”

As well as producing and directing the production (with Rosie O’Regan co-directing on one element), Hayes scripted three of the short plays. The experience of a woman and her daughter fleeing the Syrian conflict is the focus of a drama by the Irish Examiner’s Mark Evans, titled You Have It All Backwards.

“It is a humanitarian-themed show exploring the impact of displacement, of war, of being a refugee, of being a migrant,” said Mr Hayes. “I grew up when the Bosnian war was on. The world turned its back on the Bosnian people. It explores the use of sexual violence. I was trying to make sense of it and trying to present it in a respectful manner.”

The production is performed by a mix of established actors and debutants, including a 10-year-old boy.