Safe Haven at Arcola Theatre Review
Eugenie Bouda and Lisa Zahra in Safe Haven. Photo by Ikin Yum
Written by Emily K-N for Theatre and Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
This production contains loud bangs and strong language
Historical drama Safe Haven is set in the early 1990s during the aftermath of the first Gulf War, against a backdrop of brutality, which led to two million Kurds escaping into freezing mountains. Based on historic events, the play centres around two British diplomats, working to convince the British government to intervene and ultimately prevent genocide. Alongside this, we see the human side of the events, following Kurdish refugee, Dlawer, living in London, his sister Najat, who has fled to the mountains in northern Iraq, and Zeyra, a woman she meets on her way. Overall, this is a powerful play, examining the politics of the time, whilst sensitively dealing with the human side of the events, particularly the bravery and resilience of the Kurdish people.
The play’s acting is largely strong, with Beth Burrows as young diplomat, Catherine, and Richard Lynson as her boss, Clive, commanding the stage from the outset. They are convincing as two people trying to navigate an overseas crisis and respond accordingly from Whitehall. There is a lot of information to take in from an audience perspective throughout, which is at times hard to follow, but Burrows and Lynson do a good job of holding our attention.
Scenes between the Kurdish women, Najat and Zeyra, set in the mountains, are moving, with Lisa Zahra as Zeyra giving a particularly strong performance. There are no big set changes to mark the shift from a Whitehall office to the mountains of northern Iraq, only sound and subtle video projections. However, the strong acting means leaving the majority of the settings to the imagination generally works well.
The small space of Arcola Theatre’s Studio 2 adds to the intimacy of the production, meaning every intended emotion is felt. That being said, there were a couple sight line issues where actors’ faces were unfortunately blocked from view, but perhaps if the production gets another run in a larger space, this could be rectified.
The fact that Safe Haven was written by a former British diplomat, Chris Bowers, gives it a depth of detail which would perhaps not be achievable if it were written by someone without that experience behind them. Some of this detail is a little too drawn out, particularly in scenes set in the office in Whitehall. Despite this and some other minor areas for improvement, Safe Haven offers interesting insight into an important period of history, exploring themes that are sadly as relevant today as they were then.
At Arcola Theatre until 7 February
★★★
