Friday, March 22, 2019
'The Jungle' playwrights found hope amid a refugee camp of 28,000. Now they've re-created the experience onstage
Datebook: Looking back on it now, Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson – the playwrights whose inventive hit play “The Jungle” opens at the Curran on March 26, following its sellout runs in London and New York – aren’t quite sure why they decided to go to Calais in September 2015 to visit the sprawling refugee camp that had erupted earlier that year atop a degraded landfill site on France’s northern coast.
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‘The Jungle’ and its true story are totally fascinating to me and have been for months. I actually tried to see the show when I knew I’d be returning home to New York City for winter break, but it was (rightfully) totally sold out. I think that something that the article and the “two Joes” took for granted was that everyone was trying to learn more about the refugees-- why they were fleeing, from whom, and who they were. I think in much of the hateful rhetoric that I’ve heard in America, it is clear that there are many people, who despite their ignorance on the topic, were quick to make false blanket assumptions about the massive collective composed of refugees from all different countries fleeing all kinds of issues. I am so glad and proud of the theatre community that art like this exists, ones that start at the genuine heart of the topic and stem from the storytellers themselves. I am also sadly aware that the audiences of a show like ‘The Jungle’ are not of this bigoted group of people who lack empathy for refugees and would never see a show on the subject.
Personally this show seem so powerful. I also think its stories like these that are shaping the future of storytelling and more specifically how we tell the stories of others. Similar to Come From Away, many people come together over dire circumstances told through an ensemble cast. Obviously The Jungle is a very different situation than that of the one in newfoundland but the storytelling method is similar. Personally I like these ensemble stories because it allows you to see many sides of characters without being to encourages to sympathise with one main character. I also think it is rightfully no longer acceptable to tell other cultures story as yourself. In some ways by creating a main character you are creating your own archetype of that culture. By telling stories through an ensemble you are able to showcase a wide range of viewpoints. It reminds me of a ted talk that we watched every year on the first day of history in high school called “the danger of a single story”. In this talk they chat about stereotypes and the dangerous effect of cultural misunderstandings. I think by telling this story through an ensemble the playwrights’ are able to show a group of people and how they interact to tell a compelling story.
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