The Border

Afsaneh Gray

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781786828163
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Emigration & Immigration
• Index: Social Sciences

An outrageous Brechtian parable that explores the lines we draw between ourselves and other people. The clock moves towards midnight. Life is about to be turned upside down for one small town as the border crossing is sealed shut, dividing here from there, us from them, this from that. In the midst of it all, Stranger, a young girl's beloved dog, has gone missing. Will Stranger be found before the border closes, or will he be trapped forever on the "wrong" side?

The Border

Cast

Julia Jazmine Wilkinson

Mother, Mayor, Female Borderguard, Stranger Rujenne Green

Father, Refugee Boy, Journalist, Male Borderguard Matt Littleson

Grandma, Smuggler, Jogger, Call Centre Boss Lucie Capel

All other characters and social media interludes will be performed by the company ensemble.

Creative Team

Playwright Afsaneh Gray

Director Natalie Wilson

Designer Alice Hallifax

Composer Ted Barnes

Lighting Designer Neill Brinkworth

Movement Director Ingrid Mackinnon

Dramaturg Sarah Dickenson

Production Manager Faith Austin

Company Stage Manager Robert Browning

Theatre Centre Staff

Artistic Director and Joint-CEO Natalie Wilson

Executive Director and Joint-CEO Raidene Carter

Participation Producer Joseph Raynor

Programme and Administration Coordinator Lucy Goodman

Marketing Officer Kat Rodda

Director’s Introduction

In 2018 we pushed out a provocation into the playwriting world in the form of the remodelled Brian Way Award. We invited writers to give us ideas on the theme of Treaty. Throughout that year, we were immersed in World War One and the Armistice commemorations as we toured The Muddy Choir, by Jesse Briton, across the country. Our thinking was that after Armistice comes Treaty and that this focus would offer us a rich progression in our commissioning. With 2019 gearing up to be a tumultuous year for possible new Treaties with our nearest neighbours, we wanted our new play to feel the pulse of the times we live in.

The response was fascinating, with the interpretation of Treaty ranging from the domestic to the dystopian. The Border by Afsaneh Gray stood out as a concept. The idea to take this impossibly complex theme and to distil it into a simple parable about a girl who loses her dog captured our imagination and attention. Meeting Afsaneh and interrogating the idea only made us more excited. The treatment not only gave scope for immense theatricality but also suggested a unique disruption mid-performance to kick off a conversation with the audience. Theatre Centre’s ambition has always been to keep stretching ourselves, our audience and the form itself and The Border offers such a stretch.

Now we have the draft play, ready for rehearsal, The Border is clearly more than a simple parable. Afsaneh’s writing challenges us to wake up to the system that puts value on “having stuff” at the expense of our humanity. This play digs deeper than a political decision to build a border. It invites us to search for new meaning in our society by listening and learning from things and people that may at first appear strange but with time and patience will become the new familiar. It calls on individuals to be better as people and not to rely on the systems and institutions that sell themselves to the highest bidder or flirt with whoever is prepared to pay the share price.

The Border is exuberant, absurd, ridiculous in places but holds a truth that needs to be spoken. Division is real, but we can find a way back; but only if we don’t follow blindly those who don’t have our best interests at heart. We need to question those in positions of power and make up our own minds about the big issues of our age. To be presenting the play to young audiences is an honour and we want the play to start a conversation that ultimately gives young people the agency to decide what kind of world they want to shape for today and tomorrow.

Playwright’s Introduction

We are living in an extreme, and extremely confusing, world. Everything and everyone is at top volume. Events move at such a pace that it’s like we’re on fast forward. As an adult, I find this overwhelming. So, it’s hard for me to imagine what it’s like to be coming to maturity in this extraordinary din. I grew up in the 1990s, a time of studied apathy, when the centrists had won, and we were supposed to be post-political. That’s not an option for young people today. The effects of decisions taken by politicians are all too relevant for their lives and their futures.

With The Border, I wanted to create a pause. A moment to sit back and consider the terrifying absurdity of this moment in history – when all we hear are meaningless soundbites and so everyone’s stopped listening. How do we find meaning in what’s deliberately meaningless? How do we truly listen to each other and find thoughtful responses in a world that’s so thoughtless? How do we inform ourselves in a world full of disinformation? These are the challenges we face today. Somehow, I wanted to capture that in this play – and the simple story of a girl who loses her dog seemed like the right vehicle for that. Because as much as we would like to ignore the maelstrom outside the window, we all have to face up to it. It’s affecting our families, our communities, our world. And if it isn’t yet, then it soon will be. This is what Julia – the heroine of this play – discovers. And if she learns how to navigate the crazy world we have created with grace and kindness, then I think we can too.

Acknowledgements

I wrote The Border in the year after having my first child. If it hadn’t been for the secure knowledge that I would be supported every step of the way by my wonderful partner, Gabriel, I would never even have attempted it. I am also indebted to my mother, Nicoline, Adam, Alexander and assorted siblings and niblings for always having open arms for my baby, leaving me free to write. Thanks to Natalie Wilson, Sarah Dickenson, and the whole Theatre Centre team, whose faith in me and in this play has been unwavering. Thanks to Ted Barnes, for his beautiful music. And finally, thanks to Giles Smart – I couldn’t wish for a better agent.

I’d also like to thank all the actors involved in the development of the play: Aryana Aramkhalawon, Natasha Cowley, Ella Dunlop, Michael Lyle, Siobhan McSweeney and Elexi Walker, as well as all the year 12 students from the BRITschool and Year 9 students from Nicholas Chamberlaine School in Bedworth.

Jazmine Wilkinson | Julia

Jazmine trained at Rose Bruford.

Credits include: Shakespeare in Love (UK Tour), Christmas at Kew (Kew Gardens), Gilgamesh (The White Bear Theatre), Shadow Games (UK Tour), Drafters (Jazz Central, New York).

Theatre whilst training includes: Lion in the Streets, The Crucible, Vinegar Tom, Strange Fruit (Rose Bruford) and The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Syracuse University, New York).

Short films include: Popped, The Train, The Veins in her Eyelids, Bad Friends, Like Brother, Like Sister, The Sermon. Other notable credits include web series The Art of Dating and lead female in music video Pray by Tora Kamanja.

Rujenne Green | Mother, Mayor,

Female Borderguard, Stranger

Rujenne studied at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

Theatre credits include: Square Rounds (Finborough Theatre), The Dog Beneath the Skin (Jermyn Street Theatre), Cookies (Theatre Royal Haymarket) and The Alchemist (Neuss Globe Theatre).

Matt Littleson | Father, Refugee Boy, Journalist, Male Borderguard

Matt has recently graduated from Mountview.

Theatre whilst training includes: Punk Rock, The Glass Menagerie, Measure for Measure and On the Shore of the Wide World.

Lucie Capel | Grandma, Smuggler, Jogger, Call Centr...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Characters
• Scene One
• Scene Two
• Scene Three
• Scene Four
• Scene Five
• Scene Six
• Scene Seven
• Scene Eight
• Scene Nine
• Scene Ten
• Scene Eleven
• Scene Twelve
• Scene Thirteen
• Scene Fourteen
• Scene Fifteen
• Scene Sixteen