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Performance and Migration website is designed to support any researcher, student or specialist in completing literature reviews, essays, publications or more in the field of Theatre and Migration by providing an easily accessible archive of research which has been compiled and sorted into several comprehensive collections

Archives: Plays






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  • Title: Freedom Project

    Author: Luke Barnes

    Year: 2021

    Geography: Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom

    Synopsis: Freedom Project follows two teenage refugees, inspired by the real experiences of its performers, as they recount their journeys to the UK. Blending humour, warmth, and stark truths, the play contrasts childhood dreams of safety with the harsh realities of bureaucracy, prejudice, and survival, offering an intimate, urgent portrait of resilience and hope.

    Publication: Barnes, L. (2021 2022). Freedom Project. In Freedom Project (pp. 2–39). London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.

  • Title: The Lonely Londoners

    Author: Sam Selvon, Roy Williams

    Year: 2024

    Geography: Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom

    Synopsis: The Lonely Londoners follows Henry “Sir Galahad” Oliver, newly arrived from Trinidad in 1950s London, as he joins Moses Aloetta and other West Indian immigrants navigating racism, disillusionment, and homesickness. Roy Williams’ adaptation of Sam Selvon’s novel captures friendship, survival, and the bittersweet search for belonging in a city both dreamt of and unwelcoming.

    Publication: Selvon, S., & Williams, R. (2024 2024). The Lonely Londoners. In The Lonely Londoners (pp. 1–83). London: Methuen Drama.

  • Title: The Claim

    Author: Tim Cowbury

    Year: 2017

    Geography: Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom

    Synopsis: In The Claim, Congolese asylum seeker Serge faces a Kafkaesque UK interview where mistranslation, cultural misunderstandings, and bureaucratic bias warp his story into absurdity. Tim Cowbury’s sharp, darkly comic script exposes how language barriers and official indifference can decide life-or-death cases, blending humor and horror to question the fairness of the asylum process.

    Publication: Cowbury, T. (2017 2023). The Claim. In The Claim (pp. xiv–84). London: Oberon Books.

  • Title: Petrol Station

    Author: Sulayman Al Bassam

    Year: 2017

    Geography: Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom

    Synopsis: Petrol Station is set at a remote desert outpost near a war zone, where two half-brothers compete for their aging father’s favor. Amidst family secrets, past crimes, and broken loves, tensions erupt, exploring identity, ambition, and betrayal. Sulayman Al Bassam blends Gulf Arab realities with myth and legend to depict a modern dystopia shaped by migration, war, and shifting power.

    Publication: Bassam, S. (2017 2023). Petrol Station. In Petrol Station (pp. 15–88). London: Oberon Books.

  • Title: Death and the King’s Horseman

    Author: Soyinka, Wole

    Year: 1975

    Geography: Africa > Western Africa > Nigeria

    Synopsis: The plot centers around the ritual suicide of Elesin, which he must carry as part of his Yoruba traditions. As the designated time for his death approaches, Elesin is celebrated by the townspeople, and he prepares to fulfill his sacred duty. Meanwhile, the British colonial authorities, led by District Officer Pilkings and his wife Jane, learn of the ritual and are horrified by what they perceive as barbaric and uncivilized. Determined to prevent the suicide, Pilkings intervenes, arresting Elesin and thus disrupting the ritual. This intervention leads to catastrophic consequences. Olunde, Elesin’s son, who has been studying medicine in England, returns home upon hearing of the king’s death. Understanding the importance of the ritual, Olunde is deeply disappointed by his father’s failure and ultimately sacrifices himself to restore the cosmic order. Elesin, now shamed and dishonored, takes his own life in captivity, but too late to fulfill his original duty.

    Publication: Soyinka, Wole. Death and the King’s Horseman.

  • Title: Los inmigrantes

    Author: Deflippis Novoa, Francisco

    Year: 1921

    Geography: Americas > South America > Argentina

    Synopsis: Los inmigrantes (1921) portrays a family struggling with internal conflicts and external pressures in Buenos Aires. Vicente, an Italian shoemaker, moves to Argentina with his wife, Teresa, and her ward, Pascualín, who has a cognitive disability. Vicente’s business partner, Antonio, is wealthy but selfish, and the family faces tension from his influence and from assimilation challenges. Vicente, despite his hard work and sacrifice, is troubled by his son Andresito’s resentment towards Pascualín and fears the future. Andresito, embarrassed by Pascualín, lashes out and is unhappy with his father’s sacrifices. As secrets and pressures build, Antonio returns, threatening to reveal the truth about Andresito’s paternity. In a climactic moment, Pascualín kills Antonio, leading to further familial discord and trauma for Andresito, who is left to grapple with the complexities of his identity and family.

    Publication: Deflippis Novoa, F. (1921). Los inmigrantes. Teatro Argentino, 42, 2–23.

  • Title: Babilonia

    Author: Discépolo, Armando

    Year: 1987

    Geography: Americas > South America > Argentina

    Synopsis: In Babilonia, Armando Discépolo presents a harsh depiction of immigrant life in Argentina through the lens of disgruntled servants who reside in a wealthy but unwelcoming criollo household. The play vividly captures the constant tension among Spanish, Italian, and German workers, who not only struggle with interpersonal and professional conflicts but also face significant language barriers.

    Publication: Discépolo, Armando. Babilonia.

  • Title: A Sudden Violent Burst of Rain

    Author: Sami Ibrahim

    Year: 2022

    Geography: Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom

    Synopsis: A Sudden Violent Burst of Rain by Sami Ibrahim follows Elif, a migrant sheep-shearer desperate for sanctuary inside city walls. Trapped in endless queues and denied entry, her story mirrors today’s harsh immigration systems. A poetic fable of displacement and resilience, the play premiered in 2022 through Paines Plough, Rose Theatre, and Gate Theatre, including a run at Edinburgh Fringe.

    Publication: Ibrahim, S. (2022 2023). A Sudden Violent Burst of Rain. In A Sudden Violent Burst of Rain (pp. 3–69). London: Nick Hern Books Limited.

  • Title: Amongst the Reeds

    Author: Chinonyerem Odimba

    Year: 2016

    Geography: Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom

    Synopsis: Chinonyerem Odimba’s play Amongst the Reeds is a drama about two friends on the margins of society. Oni (a seventeen-year-old Nigerian girl) and Gillian (a sixteen- to seventeen-year-old Vietnamese girl) scratch out a living. They have made their home in a disused office block, finding ever more precarious ways to stay hidden from the authorities. But now Gillian is heavily pregnant, and visibility might be the only way to give her baby a chance.

    Publication: Odimba, C. (2016 2021). Amongst the Reeds. In House + Amongst the Reeds (pp. 47–81). London: A Nick Hern Book.

  • Title: The Duke

    Author: Shôn Dale-Jones

    Year: 2016

    Geography: Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom

    Synopsis: The Duke by Shôn Dale-Jones is a poignant one-man show blending personal family history and global crisis. When his mother accidentally breaks a valuable porcelain figure—once bought by his father as an investment—Dale-Jones reflects on value, sacrifice, and responsibility. Set against the backdrop of the refugee crisis, the play subtly urges audiences to reconsider what truly matters. Performed for free, with donations to Save the Children, it challenges conventional ideas of worth and theatre’s role in society.

    Publication: Dale-Jones, S. (2016 2023). The Duke. In The Duke (pp. –63). London: Oberon Books.