Geography: Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom
Year: 2016
Produced by: Arcola Theatre, London Link: https://theagency.co.uk/news/cargo-directed-by-david-mercatali-opens-at-the-arcola-theatre/
Creative Team: Written by Tess Berry-Hart; directed by David Mercatali
Synopsis: Set inside a darkened cargo container Tess Berry-Hart’s Cargo tells the story of a group of exiles who are trying to reach Europe. It is inspired by Berry-Hart’s work around the Calais refugee camp as a founding member of Calais Action, the grassroots collective. The confined staging produces an effective physical secrecy as the production highlights the absence of a safe legal passage for migrants and refugees seeking safety and security. With a fully immersive set made of recycled packing materials, staged in the round, the production provides a close up, visceral experience. The characters’ hopes for security and safety are placed under the pressure of politics and betrayal. Highlighting the smugglers’ treatment of refugees and the methods migrants use to get into crates emphasises how boarders produce physical vulnerability and often force people into hidden routes. Cargo asks the audience what happens when survival and safety depends on hope and luck as the production exposes the violence and risk built into restricted mobility.
Source: The Agency, news post on Cargo: https://theagency.co.uk/news/cargo-directed-by-david-mercatali-opens-at-the-arcola-theatre/ Broadway World, Review of Cargo: https://www.broadwayworld.com/uk-regional/article/Photo-Flash-In-Rehearsal-for-Tess-Berry-Harts-CA RGO-at-the-Arcola-Theatre-20160629 Migrant Voice, Blog Post on Cargo: https://www.migrantvoice.org/migrationmatters/new-play-set-in-a-040716152644