The play is set in a circus (which heightens the surrealities) and fairground (which heightens the sense of menace) with a ringmaster based on a cross between Theresa May and the Wicked Witch of the West. It tells a dizzying number of stories from people of many different countries of origin now trying to make it in the UK.
Covering a range of different exploitations from the black economy to sexual slavery the play is rescued from being simply too depressing by the humour of the actors – all refugees themselves. There isn’t a linear plot though – just a series of snapshots. Which can sometimes be confusing to follow.
My main criticism would be that the direction doesn’t take proper account of the space it’s set in. For a play so willing to break rules, it was odd that so much was played forward while the theatre was in the round.
But this is a small detail next to the big feeling the play induces. Guilt for the system we allow is both encouraged and lampooned. But you still leave with a passionate desire to do better.