Through a script created directly from verbatim accounts of refugees, I’d Turn Back is a young person’s impression of the hardships undertaken by people forced to leave their homes and travel by any means to somewhere in search of safety, only to find a host of new dangers.
Written by 17 year old Liv Smith (in 2015) and performed with kinetic storytelling.
Theatre ***1/2
Bakehouse Theatre — Mainstage, until March 10
WHILE this 30-minute show is most likely preaching to the converted, the young team behind Scrambled Prince Theatre Company does a solid job of sensitively highlighting the plight of refugees and asylum seekers.
Created by 17-year-old Liv, the piece is devoid of any props or sets — just four actors dressed in black and white, recounting stories and adopting elements of physical theatre.
Audio of Tony Abbot’s “stop the boats” spin contrasted with some heavy scenes jolt the audience back to sad reality.
There are some strong performances from all four actors but the personal stories fall short of revealing anything too different from what we’ve heard in the media.
The actors acknowledge their white privilege at the end, introducing themselves by age and ancestry (“I’m 17 and my ancestors came from Poland”) and conceding that we are “all boat people”.
The original cast of ‘I’d Turn Back (from left to right) Chrissy Fitzmaurice, Oliver Zargorski, Olivia Smith, Tess Hider & Michael Jukes
I’d Turn Back was produced in association with Scrambled Prince Theatre Company
Olivia Buckton-Smith 