Theatre Centre tackles immigration in a short sharp look at Serbian-Kosovans in the UK.
For an hour-long show, Under a Foreign Sky manages to say a lot without overwhelming us with the enormity of the subject matter. Writer Paula B Stanic presents a series of intertwined stories that pair young migrants with the adults in their lives as they deal with language barriers, identity issues and the dark history that often lurks behind the reasons people are compelled to leave their homes.
On Matt Edwards' super slick set, Drina and Bojan move close to but never quite into each other's worlds, their near misses reflecting their proximity to Ibby, an invisible victim of child trafficking. Their lives are punctuated with flavour of the month news reports on immigration, made up of an incomprehensible mix of statistics and vox pops from Daily Mail readers. The message they receive is overwhelmingly negative, and welcoming voices are few and far between.
Bojan, for example, is a nineteen year-old Jamie Oliver wannabe but his country is in disrepair and lacks opportunities for a man with his creative drive. He finds himself in London with nowhere to live, full of dignity, enthusiasm and a sweet naivety. Drina on the other hand is a reserved, slightly petulant teenager recently reunited with the mother who left her in Kosovo to seek a better life in the UK. She’s forced to deal with issues of abandonment, and battles with the idea that she should try to become English as well as speak the language. Her character arc is the clearest and her relationship with language provides the most food for thought.
Stanic's contrasting characters are at the heart of what makes this play work. The climactic scene between stubborn Drina and her spirited mother uses stuttering pauses and bullet point remarks to explore what pushes migrants to leave their homeland.
Like every scene in Natalie Wilson's production, it unfolds with a perfect mix of intrigue and explanation that leaves room for us to stand in Drina's shoes as she starts to get a grip on why people from her country come to the UK.
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