The Jungle
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Okot (John Pfumojena) Photo: Little Fang |
Directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin
Until May 19, 2019
Curran Theater, 445 Geary St., San Francisco
Reviewed by Christine Okon
Today's news overwhelms us with images of displaced, huddled and disdained refugees such as the little Syrian boy lying face down in the sand, drowned in an attempt to flee his ravaged homeland. There is no shortage of such images.
Now imagine being in a ramshackle restaurant with dirt floors in one of the dozens of camps near Calais, France where thousands of Kurdish, Syrian, Somali, Eritrean, Afghan, Palestinian, Iranian and Iraqi refugees are trying to survive while waiting for their "good chance" of reaching the safe haven of England just across the channel.
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Mahelet (Bisserat Tseggai) and Helene (Nahel Tzegai) Photo: Little Fang |
The Curran Theater's plush seats and lovely decor are gone, radically transformed by Miriam Beuther’s set design. (See the development of the set at https://sfcurran.com/the-currant/articles/2019-2/). Audience members are packed elbow-to-elbow on backless benches in front of long wooden tables under a makeshift ceiling of cardboard, tarps, fabric, and miscellaneous items. More than 20 performers weave through the audience, some offering chai tea in Styrofoam cups, as we learn we're in a restaurant managed by Salar (a wise and passionate Ben Turner) as the sound (designed by Paul Arditti) of loud bulldozers and roadway traffic periodically shakes the room.
Our guts tighten with fear, curiosity or excitement as we try to make sense of the chaos. A young boy is killed by a truck on the road and the grieving community unites in a Muslim burial service.
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(L-R) Mohammed (Jonathan Nyati), Sam (Tommy Letts), and Safi (Ammar Haj Ahmad) Photo: Little Fang |
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Safi (Ammar Haj Ahmad) and Okot (John Pfumojena) Photo: Little Fang |
The Jungle is beyond theater. It beckons us to care and invites us to take action by learning more about the plight of refugees everywhere. One way to start is by visiting goodchange.org.uk/america. Watching the news will never be the same.
The Jungle
Written by Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson. Directed by Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin. Through May 19. Two hours, 50 minutes. $25-$165. Curran theater, 445 Geary St., San Francisco, 415-358-1220. https://sfcurran.com
CAST
MOE BAR-EL -- Maz
LORRAINE BRUCE -- Paula
ALEXANDER DEVRIENT -- Henri/Yasin
TREVOR FOX -- Boxer
AMMAR HAJ AHMAD -- Safi
TOMMY LETTS -- Sam
ARYA ROSE LOHMOR -- Little Amal
CATHERINE LUEDTKE -- Angela, u/s Paula
YASIN MORADI -- Hamid
JONATHAN NYATI -- Mohammed
JOHN PFUMOJENA -- Okot
ZARA RASTI -- Little Amal
RACHEL REDFORD -- Beth
IBRAHIM RENNO -- Imad, u/s Salar/Ali
DOMINIC ROWAN -- Derek
RACHID SABITRI -- Ali
MOHAMED SARRAR -- Omar
MOSES M. SESAY -- Mustafa, u/s Okot/Mohammed
ERIC TABACH -- Shahmeer, u/s Sam/Maz/Henri
MILAN TAJMIRI -- Omid
BISSERAT TSEGGAI -- Mahelet, u/s Beth/Helene
BEN TURNER -- Salar
NAHEL TZEGAI -- Helene
TIM WRIGHT -- Gary, u/s Boxer/Derek
KHALED ZAHABI -- Norullah
CREATIVES
JOE MURPHY AND JOE ROBERTSON
Playwrights
STEPHEN DALDRY
Director
JUSTIN MARTIN
Director
MIRIAM BUETHER
Set Designer
CATHERINE KODICEK
Costume Designer
JON CLARK
Lighting Designer
PAUL ARDITTI
Sound Designer
JOHN PFUMOJENA
Compositions
DUNCAN MCLEAN
Video Designer
TRISTAN SHEPHERD
Video Designer
JULIA HORAN, CDG
UK Casting
JIM CARNAHAN, CSA
US Casting
JILLIAN CIMINI, CSA
US Casting
ALEXANDRE BLEU, CSA
US Casting
DAVID LAN
Executive Producer
SUNNY JAIN
Music Director
GEORGIA BIRD
Stage Manager
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