An Evening With an Immigrant – Bridge Theatre, London (last chance to see)

A review of An Evening with an Immigrant at the Bridge Theatre. In which I start to wonder if the Bridge Theatre’s ulterior motive with their new season of monologues is to get everyone so angry at the government they become politically engaged.

Back at the Bridge Theatre for An Evening With An Immigrant

An Evening With An Immigrant was my second outing to the Bridge Theatre for their new season of monologues. So this isn’t technically a Covid Diaries entry! Although I went on the first day of new government rules so a few things were different. The main improvement since I came to see Beat the Devil, is that the lobby was a lot clearer. [EDIT: it was back to being quite busy when I came to see this and this…]

It’s no longer possible to order drinks at the bar and consume them before entering the theatre. This makes for a much better flow from arrival to getting you to your socially distanced seat. What is really great though is that you can order a drink straight to your seat, including for the interval. You can do this earlier in the day or when you first arrive and sit down. While I’m sure it’s not really sustainable for the theatre (or very practical if all the missing seats go back in), it’s a great luxury and something I would love to always have!

Time to Get Angry at What the UK Government Puts People Through

So anyway, on to the show! Like Beat the Devil this is a monologue, but unlike David Hare’s work, it’s not a play. Instead it is an evening of storytelling and poetry by Inua Ellams with music from DJ Sid Mercutio. It is the story of Ellams’ life, and what a life it has been so far! From middle class beginnings in Nigeria, his family was forced to flee to London (because of religious persecution); then to Dublin (due to bureaucratic and legal incompetence); then back to London (more religious persecution). He has spent the majority of his life so far looking for a place to belong and call home, but has been met with indifference and hostility from the powers that be. Luckily, this hasn’t prevented him finding his niche in terms of artistic talents and strong friendships.

It just seems so unfair and ridiculous that a family should endure such an unfeeling and Kafka-esque process, that as the story unfolded I found myself questioning my own values. Would I have the courage to go ahead with a collaboration with someone in a precarious immigration situation, as some of Ellams’ supporters did? I’m not sure I would. And am I complicit by resignedly accepting a government whose avowed aim was to create a ‘hostile environment’ for immigration? Probably.

Poetry, Music, Storytelling – Wonderful

This all makes it sound as if it was a very serious and preachy evening. It most certainly was not, and I want to emphasize that. There were serious moments, sure, but Ellams is engaging, honest, and most of all funny. His poetry is also seriously good, and this is coming from someone who isn’t normally a poetry person. I’m not sure if this is always the case with his writing, but due to the subject matter of the evening the poems he performed were largely autobiographical. Despite their specificity he has a real talent in connecting with each and every audience member. After a while you forget you’re listening to a poem and are swept up in the story and the language.

Before heading to the Bridge Theatre, An Evening With An Immigrant debuted in 2016. It went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017 and has been brought up to date since. It’s an excellent testimony to the power of the arts and culture to help people whose circumstances are difficult and disenfranchising to find a voice and to find hope. It was a privilege to be able to see it in person. Ellams can hold a room, but does so in such a quiet and unassuming way that I don’t know how a show like this would transfer to this year’s live-streamed or recorded formats. He was upfront that it would be an evening of ‘Nigerian navel gazing’, but I think the beauty of it is that it encourages (without demanding) a certain amount of introspection from its audience too.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 4/5
An Evening with an Immigrant until 15 October 2020