With migration remaining a prominent and often divisive topic in public debate, this migrant-led production feels timely and welcome. Transit, presented by Halfpace Theatre at the Cockpit Theatre, is a show devised and performed by migrants that sheds light on the migration experience through the creative use of dance, physical theatre, music and projections.
Transit doesn’t have a plot as such. It is more a collection of experiences and episodes that document the enormous physical and emotional journeys endured and the frustration of navigating the Home Office’s ever-changing rules.
Some scenes draw on real-life testimonies, for example where delays on a visa decision mean a character misses key family moments. Bureaucracy is brought to life, represented by sheets of A4 printer paper that fall from the sky like snow.
Transit contains some stunning dance sequences, incorporating tiny hand-held spotlights that create a ghostly effect. Chen Keng’s lighting, combined with Austin Yang’s ethereal wave-like music, creates a dreamlike atmosphere that evokes sadness and loss. This is interspersed with more upbeat electronic tracks, creating a contrast in mood. The choreography from Movement Director Monica Nicolades includes contemporary dance and graceful, flowy Qigong-like moves, and is one of the best things about the show.
Transit is an ensemble piece, and each performer gets a chance to tell their own migration story. Aijamal Nasirdinova is especially strong as she longingly describes her family life back home in Kyrgyzstan, switching seamlessly between English, Kyrgyz and Russian.
The set, designed by Daria Vasko, is suitably stark, creating an appropriately hostile environment. As we enter the theatre, we are confronted by a wall of white plastic wheeled suitcases of different sizes, and this luggage does a lot of heavy lifting throughout the production. Piled high, the suitcases form a physical wall. Rolled across the stage, they mark changes of mood and pace. Opened and closed, they are a visual reminder of the basic human need for a place to call home. In one startling scene, a character emerges from a suitcase like a baby from the womb.
Without a central narrative, Transit is more of an art piece than a conventional play. Its strong message is conveyed through dance and mime rather than character-driven narrative. At 70 minutes, it feels a little long, and some of the monologues could be tighter. Transit covers a very important and current topic with great creativity, and the result is a mesmerising and engaging experience.
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