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November 5 The Bundle – A play by The Journeymen Theatre

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THE Journeymen Theatre’s production of The Bundle told a truly moving story about the hostile environment of immigration law created by the UK government to make it difficult for refugees and asylum seekers to integrate into society. The play tells the true and unfinished story of a Russian-Chechen woman, though details have been changed to protect her identity. We first see Adilah as a teenager with her Chechen father and aunt, forced into marriage with a bullying man she does not know. Then she qualifies as a lawyer, but this does not free her from the stifling expectations of her culture. When she does save the money to bring her three children secretly to the UK, with the help of a man she knows only from the internet, it seems her dream is realised. But then we watch her trying to find a way to get through the traps and difficulties our national bureaucracy has set up for people like her. There is no violence of the sort she knew back home, and she is often treated with courtesy though with few real touches of sympathy. But, increasingly, it feels that Kafka might have created the maze in which she struggles. The play ends with her going to appeal and winning temporary leave to remain. The play largely tells Adilah’s story step by step. But there are two burlesque episodes which take us into the Home Secretary’s office to see the forging of the policies which constrict her. In another scene, the head of a school that is crammed with immigrant children tries to convince a sceptical OFSTED inspector that the success that she is

achieving with them far outweighs her failure to reach government learning targets at age five. The headteacher is a real person, who told Lynn and Dave: “I break the law every day in this school” in providing free school meals to all. And we are briefly shown an old man at the doctors, pouring out his views about the unfairness which he thinks migrants have  brought to this country. These episodes do not tell us what to conclude as we are simply invited to watch what happens and explore our own reactions. The play moves from the tradition of the folk story to that of biting satire as it charts Adilah’s bid for freedom, safety and hope. And the Bundle? This refers to the bundle of papers that is vital for each refugee who wishes to come to the UK. This is a real story, yet I am sure it has been repeated with minor alterations many times. Dave and Lynn Morris, who founded The Journeymen Theatre more than a decade ago, are retiring this coming year, so if you get a chance to see this production do go. It is heartbreaking and yet so common. We aim to post a recording of the play on YouTube soon. We will be bringing Dave and Lynn back to Woking one last time in 2023, for their production of Breeding Grounds on Saturday June 24. Keith Scott

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