Nightmare scenario
The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes
Image by Shiv Grewal
Refugees are scarcely an issue these days: public hysteria has veered towards migrants instead. Nevertheless, hatreds can shift rapidly in the current febrile climate, so I welcome almost any play, film or literature that sheds light and empathy on people who are forced to cross borders.
The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes comes with the right pedigree. It started life as a short story by a highly regarded Arab author, was spotted by a talented British actor with a Middle East background, was adapted by an Iraqi-British writer, and has been directed by a man with a long-standing theatrical reputation and an interest in the subject.
And to add star-studded glamour, the press night audience included some of the great and the good from theatreland, including – after a bike ride across London – Jemima Khan and Russell Brand. (I have since been informed by the Daily Mail that only two days later “Jemima Khan trades in boyfriend Russell Brand for pet dog Brian as her Chiltern Firehouse dinner date”.)
So I am embarrassed to admit I was underwhelmed.
The idea is fine. An Iraqi is forced to flee to Britain, where he is propositioned by a well-heeled British businesswoman. But because of his traumatic experiences they don’t live perfectly happily ever after.
His story unfolds in a series of out-of-sequence scenes of varying quality and humour (it’s billed as a black comedy). It runs for only 80 minutes but the first part is too predictable (unless you’ve had no contact with British immigration officials’ attitudes or the absurdities of the recommended knowledge for citizenship) and Fuentes’ plight becomes truly engaging only towards the end when the piece takes on an added, more genuinely personal dimension.
Even the non-chronological order of the scenes seems like a self-conscious attempt to stiffen the narrative, though the between-the-scenes TV sequences of Bush, Blair and Brown talking about Iraq ias an excellent device, underlining the gap between their geopolitical gabble and the realities of life experienced by the mere mortals on the stage below.
It’s well acted, and well-staged and almost all the reviews have been more positive than this one.
One more positive point: it’s made me want to read Hassan Blasim’s original short story.
· The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes runs at the Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, E8 3DL, until 16 August. Info: 7503 1646
+ Post-show discussions, free with a ticket, beginning 10 minutes after the end of the play:
· Thursday 31 July: Immigrants, Detention Centres And Forcible Deportation, Celia Clarke, Theresa Schleicher
· Thursday 7 August: Attitudes Towards Refugees & Deportation, Lisa Doyle, Deborah Coles
· Thursday 14 August: New Writing From The Middle And Further East, Rashid Raza, Hassan Abdulrazzak
Tickets and times
Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm - £18 (£15 concessions)
Saturday matinees at 4.00pm - £15 (£12 concessions)
Mid-week matinee Wednesday 13 August at 2.30pm
Pay What You Can Tuesdays 5 & 12 August - (tickets in person from 6.30pm – limited and subject to availability)
Recommended for ages 14+
