Poets do not always make good dramatists; the temptation to over-embellish the language and swap nimble prose for self-conscious ‘refinement’ can have the opposite of the intended effect. When a writer has no deep sense of the ‘showing’ aspect of theatre and falls back on language alone the result can leave us looking at our watches. However, when a writer, like Nick Makoha, has a sense of the ‘poetry’ of the theatre and an ear for the rhythms and idioms of a particular community they can lead us through a door to a place where we breathe new, unfamiliar, air and find ourselves in a new-discovered country.

The somewhat gloomy title of his play belies the optimism and resilience that sits at the heart of this African road trip to freedom. The story puts a human face to that difficult land of western imagination that lies between ‘economic migrant’ and ‘’refugee’. The context is the dark time of the Idi Amin regime in Uganda when the swaggering buffoon, known as the Butcher of Uganda, unleashed death squads in an orgy of ethnic and political slaughter. The young Nick Mahoka (Michael Balogun), is taken by his mother (Akiya Henry) on a coach journey in a desperate attempt to escape the ever threatening madness.

The two actors play the parts of the other folk on the journey: passengers, driver and those they meet on the way. Both Ms Henry and Mr Balogun employ the array of characters with ease. What strikes one is the way they handle, not merely the physical signatures of each character, but more importantly the shifts of dominance and sympathy as we meet the pregnant, the old, the combatants – a boy soldier, a rebel commander – and an immigration official (to mention but a few). When Ms Henry plays a man, for example, we feel the source of threat in her casual swagger.

Roy Alexander Weise directs with both economy and a sense of suspense. At no point is it obvious that their journey to the UK will be successful. Expectation and anxiety hang over the journey, engaging the audience and driving the action.

Rajha Shakiry’s rickety bus of a set lacks for nothing in atmosphere save perhaps some clouds of dust, whilst Duramaney Kamara’s deft sound design helps to take us out of the theatre to a far away place. Neill Brinkworth’s Lighting design likewise helps with the sense of movement from place to place.

It is a vivid picture of a particular time and circumstance viewed through the intensity of first hand experience. However, the story resonates beyond the personal in the knowledge that it is replicated a thousand-fold in the journeys of those who are presently on the road in search of safety and a better life.

★★★★☆   Graham Wyles  11^th November 2018