All in the same boat

Abstract

Images of African migrants on overloaded boats in the Mediterranean trying to reach southern Europe have become a regular news item. The desperate plight of these people and the dangerous journeys they are prepared to undertake seem far removed from the experience of many Europeans. But in How to Hold Your Breath, at the Royal Court Theatre in London, playwright Zinnie Harris invites us to imagine what would happen if Europe suddenly experienced a dramatic social and financial collapse and Africa became the promised land. Harris's war trilogy Midwinter, Solstice, and Fall mined a similarly dystopian vision in its exploration of the emergence of ethno-religious conflict, the grim final stages of a war, and a fragile post-war period. How to Hold Your Breath, which is part of the Royal Court's season on revolution, follows the stories of two sisters as they encounter a collapsing economy and devastated health system in a Europe confronted by extreme circumstances. The play, which is demanding in its continual shifts of tone and overloaded themes, mixes the real and metaphorical. The central character is Dana, a “customer relationship” expert played with spiky intensity by the brilliant Maxine Peake. She has a one night stand with a handsome stranger, Jarron (Michael Shaeffer), only to discover that he is a demon who, in line with our materialistic society where everything seems to have a price, wants to pay Dana for their time together. Her refusal to accept the money outrages Jarron and sets in motion his bizarre revenge. He instigates the economic collapse of Europe hoping to make Dana change her mind as she travels for a job interview from Berlin to Alexandria with her pregnant sister Jasmin (Christine Bottomley). With references to Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and the Book of Job, How to Hold Your Breath imagines how quickly economic collapse could lead to the loss of a moral compass among Europeans deprived of securities they have always taken for granted. Echoing the grimness of Sarah Kane's Blasted, Harris's depiction of Europe sliding rapidly into chaos generates harrowing scenes: Jasmin, hungry and alone in an icy hotel room, loses her unborn child; a health officer delays sending an ambulance to take Jasmin to the hospital because she wants to be sure that the payment will be in cash; Dana is forced to sell sex to earn money to pay for the journey towards Africa and is then brutally beaten and robbed by other educated women reduced to the same fate; an African doctor complains about the burden of burying dead European migrants or shipping their corpses back home. The most powerful scene of the play comes towards the end when the two sisters, broken in spirit but still desperately trying to imagine a positive outcome, find themselves on an overcrowded boat trafficking illegal migrants from Europe to Egypt. Harris's play makes us reflect that as Europeans, we enjoy no immunity to violence and poverty and our sense of security and civilization could have weak foundations. Recent events in Greece remind us that this bleak vision is not something that belongs to the realm of fantasy. How to Hold Your Breath suggests that the next time we see images of migrants seeking entry to Europe, we should realise that there is no “them” as distinct from “us”: we could easily all be in the same boat. How to Hold Your Breath By Zinnie Harris. Directed by Vicky Featherstone. The Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, the Royal Court Theatre, London, UK, until March 21, 2015 http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/how-to-hold-your-breath How to Hold Your Breath By Zinnie Harris. Directed by Vicky Featherstone. The Jerwood Theatre Downstairs, the Royal Court Theatre, London, UK, until March 21, 2015 http://www.royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/how-to-hold-your-breath