It's time for my review of The Jungle.On Thursday evening, I entered the Playhouse Theatre knowing very little about the play I was about to witness. As soon as I stepped inside I was immediately struck by the reinvention of the theatre; the venue had been transformed into a refugee camp. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. I then realised that the play I was about to watch was something very, very special.
The Jungle is the place where people suffered and dreamed. In this moving production, we meet the hopeful and resilient residents of 'The Jungle' - situated just across the Channel and right on our doorstep. The play tells stories of loss, fear, community and hope, of the Calais camp's creation and of its eventual destruction. This is a very heartbreaking and touching story, and one which I am confident will provoke an emotional response from all of those that watch it. The struggles that the characters within the play have to deal with are utterly horrendous, and I am sure the various tales of suffering would have been more than enough to make all audience members grateful for all that they have in their lives. Whilst it is one thing to acknowledge the difficulties faced by the characters in this play though, it is particularly important to point out that almost all of The Jungle has been based on real life encounters; the horrific struggles and suffering depicted in the play are all issues that certain individuals have actually lived through. We as audience members cannot pretend this is fiction, because all of it has genuinely happened. It's therefore rather eye-opening, showing the audience that the migrant crisis is an issue that needs to be dealt with more effectively and quickly.
It is somewhat rare for me to speak of the direction of a piece of theatre, however I feel that this production deserves to be an exception to the norm. The Jungle is performed in-the-round, meaning that this must be a fairly difficult piece to stage, however co-directors Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin have done wonders with this production. I commend both Daldry and Martin for their superlative staging!
The cast of The Jungle are incredible; there can be no other word to describe them. The pain, suffering, passion and raw emotion displayed by each performer was quite phenomenal. This show's cast had quite a rare quality to them; they were all equally talented. There are many productions for which I am able to choose stand-out cast members, but that is exceedingly difficult in this instance. There are no weak links whatsoever, and each cast member shines in their own right. Additionally, it is rather interesting to see a number of refugees starring in the play. For a certain number of the actors, they are not simply telling a fictitious story of refugees travelling to the United Kingdom: this is their own life story.
The set design, created by Miriam Buether, was extraordinary. As previously mentioned, the Playhouse Theatre has been completely redesigned, pulling the audience into the heart of the Calais Jungle. All of the seats within the stalls have been completely removed, and instead benches with bar-like tables have been placed on either side of the long and narrow stage. The atmosphere created as a result of this design is terrifically immersive. With the actors no more than a few inches away from you, the audience are a part of the play. It feels like we are actually living there with them in the refugee camp. I was also rather impressed with the costume design, which has been created by Catherine Kodicek. All of the costumes within the play were remarkably realistic, therefore continuing the effort to make the play as life-like as possible. The lighting design is also admirable, which proved to be tremendously effective throughout the duration of the play, especially during the scene in which police descended into the Calais Jungle.
I found the whole experience to be illuminating and I am thrilled to have gotten the opportunity to watch this tremendous piece of theatre.
The featured star of The Jungle is, drum roll please... BEN TURNER!
This decision was unbearably difficult to make, due to the fact that all of the cast were on an equal footing. I even went as far to consider scrapping the 'featured star' portion of this review for the first since I have started blogging, as it was such a hard choice to make. In the end however, I decided that I would stick to tradition and choose a featured star, and therefore I selected Ben Turner, who portrayed Salar. Turner is an incredible actor, and the passion and energy which he puts into his performance is stunning.
Now for my final verdict on The Jungle. I give The Jungle...
The Jungle has everything going for it; fantastic writing, clever staging, a phenomenal cast and some incredible designs. It is undoubtedly, and deservedly, a 5 star production!
Agree with my rating? Think it should have got a lower rating? If so comment below.
Thanks for reading!
-The Reviewer
No comments:
Post a Comment