Dear Home Office : Still Pending

Phosporus Theatre's follow up to their show Dear Home Office at last year's Fringe.  Although this is a drama, portraying incidents both real and imagined, it is the cast themselves who are the key to this production.  Kate works in a sheltered accomodation unit in London, providing temporary shelter for refugees to give them time to get used to their new country.  On stage she performs her real life role, and adds some narration to the proceedings.  The remainder of the cast are young men from Afghanistan, Albania, Eritrea and Somalia, asylum seekers looking to escape the dangers of home and build a new life.

The action takes the form of vignettes from several parallel stories, illustrating the difficulties these men face - not just stultifying bureaucracy which makes them explain their situation over and over again, but language barriers, problems with work and housing, basic prejudice and bigotry, even cruelty, and despair at ever reaching their goal.  But also the positives of support, help, determination and love they can encounter.

Elgi is trying to get an education, and friends, but money is always a problem.  Kareem's life seems settled until his brother arrives, compromising them both.  Akram has to appeal against the decision to deport him, but lawyers aren't always helpful.  And Filmon dreams of being an actor, but struggles to be seen for who he is.

If you're looking for a perfect theatrical experience then this isn't it.  By any objective standards the acting is often poor, the storylines confusing when lines are hard to hear or translations on the screen are blocked by the actors.  But subjectively these things matter less than might usually be the case.  Know that these men have direct experience of the events they are playing gives the show an authenticity, and a sense of a story needing to be told.

It's not one of the great works of theatre at this year's Fringe - but it is one of the most important, and well worth seeing.

Dear Home Office : Still Pending is on in Gilded Balloon at 14.30 until 27 August.