Parasites

This text addresses one of the most urgent questions in the current geo-political and social landscape. Swedish writer, Ninna Tersman, approaches the topic from a universal perspective and her words ring true as much in Australia as they do in Europe, or anywhere else in the world confronting the global refugee crisis.

Bashar (Rosie Asher-Khan) is confined to a small space on stage surrounded by Lego and children’s play mats. However, their cheerfulness is belied by the tormented thoughts and dialogue that Bashar engages in with Irina (Elizabeth Esguerra). Irina is possibly an imaginary friend, a former refugee camp inmate, Bashar’s unconscious thoughts or a ghost. This is not always clear as she is conveyed as an ethereal persona, represented only by a voiceover and the child-like drawings of Bashar.

The technique is interesting, although there is a strong sense that it requires more anchoring so that the audience is not distracted from the narrative that unfolds in their exchanges. Overcoming this structural obstacle would be an important part of allowing this compelling and confronting material to make a more powerful impact.

The muslin cloth draped around the theatre effectively recreates the sense of a provisional life that refugees are forced to endure, and Asher-Khan does a remarkable job of conveying the vacant, sad stare that often renders refugees a shadow of their former selves.

Patricia Di Risio