The Jungle (YV)

[Deleted]

Well. This is a very sneaky play I must say. For the first half I thought I was being smacked around the face with a copy of the Guardian during an episode of 'Mind Your Language' but then found myself with something in my eye on more than one occasion during the second half.

Because it's quite sprawling with lots of stories going on, sometimes it's not entirely satisfying but the whole thing wears its heart on its sleeve in such a way that you can forgive any minor quibbles with the play as a whole. I didn't find it as overwhelmingly emotional as I perhaps thought I would but when it touches the heart, it does so brilliantly.

The moment I found most touching was . . 

SPOILER: Click to show

{The Jungle Book}
. . . where the community joined Salar in defending his restaurant.

Great cast though but the standouts for me were Ammar Haj Ahmad as Safi [such a lovely voice and presence], Ben Turner's dignified Salar and Mohammad Amiri's glorious Norullah. The relationship between Salar and Norullah was really rather lovely I thought. 

I was sat atop the White Cliffs of Dover which was appropriate as, rather like Dame Vera Lynn, I am a forces sweetheart. Slightly removed but a good overview of the whole show as opposed to being surrounded by the action on a bench and getting a glass of water spilled over me like some poor gal.

I don't think Theresa May will be heading to the Playhouse Theatre any time soon though.

Oh and from now on, my bicycle will forever be known as a "f*cking d*ck bike".

[nash16]

I still cannot believe they've called the Dress Circle "the White Cliffs of Dover"... 🤦🏻‍♀️

[Deleted]

This is included in the National Theatre Friday Rush.

[andrew]

If anyone wants to come I have an unused seat for this evening. Message me.

[Jon]

Has anyone sat in the boxes of the Playhouse as I've noticed they're now £15, I'm mulling between those and the onstage cushions

[Mark]

Saw the matinee yesterday, sat in "Row E" in the jungle and had a fabulous view. Right in the middle of the action. Cushions on this bench provide a bit of back support but still not the most comfortable!
I loved the piece as a theatrical experience, I've never seen something so immersive before and I got really into the performances. Despite the long running time I was never bored.

It was great to see so a big school group in, sat downstairs, so fully engaged in the performance.

[bordeaux]

This is excellent, the fourth show I saw in a two-day visit (after Fun Home, The Octoroon and Red - for which I got a £10 front row seat a few days beforehand), but all four shows got semi- to two-thirds standing ovations. It's ridiculous!

[firefingers]

Had a great time seeing this the other day. Got row S in the cafe brought TodayTix for £15 which was a bargain. Act One is ok, but absolutely loved Act two. Seat was a wide bench with a cushion on top, and then another cushion behind my back on the wall, so had to cross legs etc, but you felt so immersed. And it was the far side of the prosc (you could see the counterweights for the flys through the door so was cool to be on stage. Definitely worth checking out.

[Phantom of London]

Saw this the other day and what a load of politically correct load of old crap, about a camp in Calais that is full of criminals, who believe it’s their right to live in a law abiding society.

[showgirl]

Having originally thought this was exactly the type of thing I would dislike, I changed my mind when it transferred and decided to see for myself - with high hopes given all the recent 5-star reviews. However I didn't enjoy it. In fairness to the play and production, this was partly because it was swelteringly hot in the auditorium and my bench seat, though padded, was very short in depth so I could only really perch on it rather than sit properly, but the worst of the discomfort was the lack of any backrest - and it's a long play.

As for the play itself, whilst it's certainly performed with passion (and if I was too hot in my normal lightweight clothing, how overheated must the poor actors have been in their winter layers and under the lights?) and addresses issues about which some feel passionate, it came across as lots of people running around yelling and screaming. It was often hard to hear the dialogue due to multiple reactions being voiced from actors in different part of the space but what I did hear was very basic and offered no new information or insights, meaning I found it hard to reconcile what I saw with some of the enthusiastic reviews - for instance, WOS called it "as accomplished a first script as there's been in years."

Definitely a marmite play, then, and not for me, but I can't imagine anyone feeling indifferent to it so at least it provokes reactions.

[Snciole]

I really enjoyed this. I am a big lefty, liberal but enough to drag my big arse to help people. I admired the cynicism towards to British characters, who were deemed as helping for their own selfish reasons rather than for the good of 'The Jungle' which was full of intelligent, thoughtful people who despite the different religions, nationalities had formed a community.

I sat in row U (Egypt) and whilst not the most comfortable seat I loved being immersed in the production, with chai tea and bread being offered. I also had a cheetah cuddly toy to cuddle.

There were some lovely performances from all and nice to see a diverse cast (I feel like a production ten/twenty years ago would still have been full of white faces) and the audience loved it. I would argue that it is too long and the theatre is far too hot but it is a strong work which shows what can be done if we engage audiences rather than keep them at a distance.

[viserys]

Is there any hope of this extending? I'd love to see this but I wouldn't get a chance until late November.

[Deleted]

I read somewhere that they're hoping to take it to New York next, as long as they can get visas sorted out. The state of the US, I wouldn't be surprised if they had to cancel the whole idea, but nonetheless, as they're presumably still planning it at the moment, I wouldn't hold my breath for an extension.

[Jon]

Jul 18, 2018 15:04:08 GMT viserys said:

Is there any hope of this extending? I'd love to see this but I wouldn't get a chance until late November.

Caroline, or Change is already booked into the Playhouse so the chances are unlikely

[Deleted]

Caroline starts on the 20th and this is down to finish on the 3rd so I doubt it could extend otherwise that'd be quite a tight turnaround. Especially with removing that set which I imagine takes a bit longer than the usual get-out.

Speaking of just HOW uncomfortable are those benches (read: is my Mother likely to moan too much that it's not worth taking her haha)

[viserys]

Ah, pity, this sounds like such a creative play about a hot topic - as so often I'm too late to the party, but will make do with buying the text book then!

[bordeaux]

Jul 18, 2018 13:58:44 GMT Snciole said:

I really enjoyed this. I am a big lefty, liberal but enough to drag my big arse to help people. I admired the cynicism towards to British characters, who were deemed as helping for their own selfish reasons rather than for the good of 'The Jungle' which was full of intelligent, thoughtful people who despite the different religions, nationalities had formed a community.

I sat in row U (Egypt) and whilst not the most comfortable seat I loved being immersed in the production, with chai tea and bread being offered. I also had a cheetah cuddly toy to cuddle.

There were some lovely performances from all and nice to see a diverse cast (I feel like a production ten/twenty years ago would still have been full of white faces) and the audience loved it. I would argue that it is too long and the theatre is far too hot but it is a strong work which shows what can be done if we engage audiences rather than keep them at a distance.

But not that cynical, surely?  In general they came across rather well, I thought, even if they are all running away from something.  I was amused to see how well the Etonian came across:  yes, young, naive and gauche, but extremely committed, hard-working and staggeringly competent at organising an enormous amount of work over several months.

[Snciole]

I see your point but their reaction to Etonian when they find out the Jungle is going to be bulldozed suggests that they never truly trusted them. I think, despite the assistance they brought, there was an air that the residents felt they didn't need them and certainly didn't want them there. They weren't bad people but stood awkwardly between protagonist and antagonist.

Whilst I was outraged by the lack of NGO support I am not sure I could warm to those characters that were there, their good intentions that paved the residents' road to hell and their bastardising of the name of the camp conflicted with the fact they were there doing the best they could with little resources and lack of sanitation. It contrasted nicely with the video clip of those still there, despite the lack of media attention and a reminder that it isn't this glamorous humanitarian role and in the light of the Oxfam scandal a reminder why these abuses of power can happen and insular that life is.

[Jon]

The boxes at the Playhouse are a good compromise, if you see most of the action but don’t want to be part of the Afghan Cafe and risk a sore bottom. They’re good value at £15 as well.

The play itself is really good and I commend Sonia Friedman and her various co-producers for bringing into the West End, theatre like this needs to be seen by a wider audience

[Deleted]

I'm thinking of booking for this but the weird seating is driving me crazy. Any recommendation? Budget around 35 pounds.

[theatrefan77]

If you don't mind seating on a cushion with back support go for TT our UU. Both offer a great view and they are actually quite comfy. A real bargain at just £15!

[Deleted]

Thanks theatrefan77. Is it literally a cushion on the floor?

[theatrefan77]

You are on stage! It's all padded so it's not uncomfortable. Have a look at this website and see the people seating at the back on the second photo down on the far right

www.marcbrenner.co.uk/blog/2018/6/21/in-production-the-jungle-at-the-playhouse

[Nicholas]

Friend of a friend worked at Oxfam, and her description of this was that it was uncanny in its accuracy – for her, walking into this set was déjà vu.

In 2016, two great works about the migrant crisis came out. Exodus: Our Journey to Europe was this story told by the immigrants themselves, their words their films their lives. It put you alongside the chaos and confusion of being on an overstuffed dinghy or nightmarish truck, negotiating the exploitative mob rule of buying your way across Europe, leaving one unwelcoming city and entering somewhere differently unwelcoming. It had no voiceover, little editing, no comment – it just looked. The other great work was Queens of Syria, about which Susannah Clapp wrote everything that can and needs to be said. What unites them is that they are both told by the people experiencing this without politicising or commenting, merely humanising an often too-distant news story. I watched Exodus on my sofa, and Queens at the Oxford Playhouse, stunned. Both of these had real people, describing real situations unimaginable.

Theatre, though, can do two things above all other media: immerse, and story-tell.

From the second I entered The Jungle I almost had to cover my nose. Being in the Jungle becomes a really shaking experience. The sound of a meeting or fight or who knows behind you, the constant hustle and bustle from before we even begin, the (edible!) food, the risk that you might (as I was) be moved or manhandled… Daldry and Martin and Buether turn us into extras in these lives, fellow residents, occasional friends, and equally desperate people, of course with the caveat that theatre can never TRULY recreate something like this, but it's as good a facsimile as can be. The sense of reality, the mess and chaos all around, is a triumph by Daldry and Martin. It really captures the sense of camaraderie, the sense of placelessness, and the sense of uncertainty. There really is no better way to tell this story than being this close to being there.

Storytelling makes anything palatable. As children, we make sense of a nonsensical world through stories, whilst we adults know simple narrative can’t make sense of everything. The Jungle is Safi’s narrative to a child, as he constructs a knowingly constructed narrative about how countries are created and communities thrive, about who immigrates and emigrates and why, and about the harsh, sometimes journalistic facts of the Jungle. It’s a different way to look at this situation, and one that’s valid and incredibly powerful, due to its construction never hampering its reality, and its child on stage a hideous reminder of the stakes of everything. Murphy and Robertson’s script is beautifully done. That it’s peppered with newspaper articles, clips on the TV, then goes into an epilogue about Safi’s untidy reality, reminds us this isn’t just his narrative.

We felt we were living in The Jungle; we learned about living in The Jungle. Most news stories are, if we’re honest, unimaginable. I can’t imagine what an Oxfam worker goes through when visiting corners of the world. I really can’t imagine living in a camp like this. Here you don’t need to imagine.

Does it matter that it was occasionally over-expository? Does it matter that key emotional moments were then footnoted with time-and-dated references to news articles or political releases, moments overexplained, scenes stopping to discuss political success or new terminology or distant laws? Does it matter that some of the experiences before the Jungle began, about why people are there, weren’t fleshed out fully, and the ideal of England was slightly underexplored? No. None of this mattered. There are a couple of points where I wanted characters like Salar and Okot to comment and judge (Was A.A. Gill attention-grabbing or patronising? When exactly WAS the time/place for the volunteers to be there?), and sometimes I felt that the show asked ME to comment and judge specifics but I lack the necessary experience and baggage to. But these minor issues are mostly in service to this immersive storytelling. It’s a show that felt lived-in before it started, from the Cliffs of Dover to the Afghan Café; where I wanted MORE information it would have been artificial to include, and where it (artificially) included too much it did so to thoroughly source its political blows, and did those blows land. It’s mostly an exquisite script, sensitive, broad, and rich, never pulling punches about the worst of the camp, the imperfections of the immigrants, and the pros and cons of the volunteers who went over to help (the authors themselves included; if it occasionally had to sound clunky to serve its purpose, so be it. It worked.

(and I’ve always had a soft spot for theatre that is child-like storytelling, and this works here: both with having a narrator story-tell, and a heartbreaking child who deserves happier stories than this)

That The Jungle is cast with people who’ve lived these lives, and written by two who lived there, matters. Everyone on stage – with foibles and hidden depths – put their faces on this often faceless story. From the food smells to the music played to the accents we heard to the lives themselves, this matters.

At the end, this lived-in recreation gives up the façade, and turns to documentary footage. As I’ve said, of the pieces of work about immigrants, something that’s stuck with me, and will until I die, is Exodus. More than The Jungle, by presenting without critique footage from immigrants themselves, this presents a reality as it is. But the documentary can’t actually put us there. The Jungle does, it presents a reality as it is – and I think Buether does so with accuracy and success despite the obvious metropolitan limitations. It’s a great script, and Daldry and Martin’s theatrical triumph, but one we pay for and can leave at any time.

Until the end. Then it’s no longer theatrical. Real footage of what we’ve been living in for two hours means we can’t chalk our experiences down to canny immersive theatricality, or a very strong script. We leave lucky to leave. Of course it ends with cathartic applause (a standing ovation), but before that it denies any true catharsis by reminding us that there is a real Jungle; this is only theatre for us, not for everyone. The Two Joes write an important political story, and the two directors lets the immersive Jungle itself take you there, but then that final footage from Calais today reminds you that it’s not a story at all.

P.S. The late great John Berger published in Ways of Seeing:

Watching the opening of act two – as the interrogation continued proper, and the brutality of escaping Calais was unforgettably laid out – this passage came back into my head, as the person in front of me downed her G&T, then slowly sipped her champagne.

[Deleted]

On a roll today, Nicholas!

Berger’s ‘Ways of Seeing’ has been a useful companion for me throughout my life, having been taught about it when doing my A Levels. It might be difficult to film but this is the sort of thing that would be great for NT live to do.