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You can’t stop the boats: Sorry We Didn’t Die At Sea @ParkTheatre

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Sorry We Didn’t Die At Sea by Italian playwright Emanuele Aldrovandi and translated by Marco Young, has made a topical return to London at the Park Theatre after playing earlier this summer at the Seven Dials Playhouse. In a week when leaders and leaders in waiting were talking about illegal immigration, it seemed like a topical choice . It also has one hell of an evocative title. The piece opens with Adriano Celantano’s Prisencolinensinainciusol , which sets the scene for what we are about to see. After all, a song about communication barriers seems perfect for a play about people trafficking and illegal immigration. One side doesn’t understand why they happen, and the other still comes regardless of the latest government announcement / slogan .  However, the twist here is that the crossing is undertaken the other way. People are fleeing Europe instead of escaping war or poverty in Africa or the Middle East. It’s set sometime in the not-too-distant future. There is a crisis causing p

Christmas in Hull: FCUK’D @BunkertheatreUK

FCUK’D at The Bunker is a an alternative Christmas theatre experience about life on the margins of British life.

A teenage boy kidnaps his little brother and they run away. Escaping their grim council flat, daily run-ins with the authorities and in search of something better than this in the lead up to Christmas.

Estimates put it at around 100,000 children run away from home every year. This piece unpacks some of the reasons why. Dad is gone. Mum is either drinking or comatose. Nobody cares about them and so they’re going to have some fun. They steal crisps from the supermarket. They steal a car. And then they burn it for warmth.

Written and directed by Niall Ransome, the story is told in verse. Ransome took inspiration from his experiences growing up in Hull.



It’s delivered convincingly by Will Mytum as the troubled youth. He engages you through it’s short duration. Pacing about the stage, eyeing the audience, brining to life this tale about never getting a break.

The stage is a square of astroturf that resembles some neglected games area on a council estate. Leaves are piled in corners and a faulty street lamp partially lights the way. The perfect setting for trouble to emerge from the shadows.

Running at under an hour its a compelling alternative Christmas tale about the great British divide. Or

FCUK’D concludes at The Bunker from 27 to 30 December

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Photos by Andrea Lambis

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