This is a prime example of what you might call theatre of good intentions. It is performed by a multinational ensemble, many of whom are refugees, named Borderline after the title of their initial 2016 show described as “a satire of the Calais Jungle”. While I understand their desire, under the direction of Sophie NL Besse, to use comedy as a way of challenging officialdom’s hostile environment, this devised piece remains a ramshackle affair.
The basic idea is to turn this subterranean Southwark theatre into a funfair with the actors taking on the role of stallholders, clowns and musicians and inviting the audience to blow up balloons. But it is a loose format, confusingly combined with that of a circus, that is largely a means of showcasing a number of sketches. One or two items hit home. A game of Home Office bingo suggests that the granting of residency depends on the cruelty of chance. The suffocating nature of do-gooding liberalism is also caught through the sight of a refugee being bound and gagged while his benefactor merrily chirps songs from Mary Poppins.
If the show has a message, it is summed up in a rendering of Queen’s song, I Want to Break Free. But, while the hunger for liberty and self-fulfilment is to be applauded, the presence of a real writer would do more to advance the cause. While laughter can also be a valuable weapon, the one image I’ll remember from this baggy vaudeville is of a Syrian refugee, perched atop a ladder like a modern Simeon Stylites, desperately awaiting reunion with his family.
• At the Bunker, London, until 16 February.
