Geography: Europe > Northern Europe > United Kingdom
Year: 2007
Produced by: Young Vic revival; Digital Theatre capture
Creative Team: Written by Clare Bayley; directed by Tom Wright
Synopsis: Based on real-life events, The Container immersively stages the journey of asylum seekers being smuggled across Europe inside a sealed shipping container. In the Young Vic revival, the audience was placed inside an actual container with the performers emulating the darkness, proximity and heat of the container, central to the audience experience. Displaying the extremities of people-smuggling and dangers created by closed borders, the central conflict comes from the characters’ attempt to reach England whilst exhaustion and suspicion build within a confined space. The staging turns the spectators into uncomfortable witnesses whilst placing them under the physical conditions of hidden movement and migration. The production emphasises how border regimes prevent asylum seekers from migrating safely, forcing those who seek protection to opt for routes that intensify risk and dehumanisation.
Source: Digital theatre plus, The Container, Production video: https://www.digitaltheatreplus.com/title/the-container Official London theatre, Event Listing for The Container: https://officiallondontheatre.com/show/the-container-105762/ British Theatre guide, Review of The Container at the Young Vic: https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/YVcontainer-rev