In the words of Fresh Off The Boat co-writer, Sarah Pitard, ‘the UK is fucked’.
As the economy struggles, redundancies are commonplace and the political parties are divided on a solution, the blame knocks on immigrations door.
And Sarah Pitard, a pretty, white American gal whose only vice was to fall in love and marry her UK man is one of them – an immigrant, an illegal alien.
A Border Story (the first act of Fresh Off The Boat) follows Pitard’s real-life story in a touching, witty and unusually comical way, but I can’t help but notice that behind her calm exterior, it’s also a chance to display ‘two fingers’ at the Immigration Officers.
Having been refused a marriage visa, it seems marrying a UK citizen is not enough to secure a place in Blighty.
From the airport scene with the questions about her dress bag which alluded to her being a whore, it is no surprise her stage double, Amy, tells the audience: “England’s not a very positive place for a person other than the British.”
Only having married on 12/12/12 and expecting a baby, (I sighed in relief when Pitard explained this was an addition for dramatic effect) the couple attempted to exploit a legal loophole to gain entry to the UK.
Amy and Brian would move to another European country where Brian would get a job (the only one was sans va va voom flipping burgers in Paris) to reach the minimum six-month threshold whereby they would then be eligible for UK citizenship.
Now the good news is that Amy, aka Sarah, and her stage hubby Brian, are able to spread the word on this loophole and somehow this production was pulled together while they were living in France.
The bad news is that they’re still stuck in limbo, still awaiting to hear their fate and still uncertain about their future in the UK.
Despite the serious content of this first act, Pitard shows her determination, and through sympathetic Amy (Lee Lytle) and Brian, played by Paul Tonkin, we saw the emotional fragility laid bare to the audience and no doubt, it acts as an open letter to the Immigration Officers too.
Act two can’t help but lift your spirits, again in a satirical, comedic way as it broaches the important subject of immigration.
‘The Utility People’, written by Michael Ross, is opened with a couple casually celebrating with a bottle of prosecco when all the noises from the rather large utility cupboard finally spills out into the living room in the form of an immigrant mother and her son.
Ironically, Jake (played by Mike Houlihan), who used to work for Amnesty International is far from welcoming, and Chloe (Antonia Reid) almost overcompensates saying £they are humanity” which is abruptly followed by Jake’s “humanity can go somewhere else”’.
As the British Empire plundered everyone in history, Chloe feels it is only right that the mother and son ought to be able to stay and she soon starts giving them chores so they earn their keep.
She even provides them with the nicknames Goldilocks and Bear (obviously named after Paddington).
In scenes that had me chuckling, Matt and Antonia played the couple with enough sense of confusion, surprise and nerve to pull off their treacherous steps towards slave labour and human exploitation in their own home.
The son, played by Theo Ancient, really comes into his own as he’s given a real voice to proclaim damnation of the way immigrants are treated around the world.
As he eloquently sums up the moral and legal system of immigration in the UK, I was literally blown away.
Articulating and applying a magnifying glass to the situation, he underpinned the hopes, fears and realities of immigration against the privileges of those living here.
Richard, the narrator, punctuated each scene beautifully with spark and character which illuminated the harsh content with the right tones of comedy.
A very deserving play, well structured, rehearsed and it definitely had me thinking about the privilege associated with my British passport. Good luck to the Pritards.
