REVIEW: ONE WHO WANTS TO CROSS by Marc-Emmanuel Soriano at Finborough Theatre until 23 Feb 2023



‘Hope, determination and a lost opportunity to tell an important tale’ ★★★

A refugee arrives on a beach looking for the man who will sell him passage to a new life. Desperate to escape a life of eating fish guts and sleeping on cardboard he’ll risk anything to escape his poverty. What unfolds is a story of hope, determination and unutterable human tragedy.
 
Amanda Gann’s translation of Marc-Emmanuel Soriano’s award winning play brought a rhythm which ebbed and flowed like the sea which was such a central character of the play. There were moments of true lyricism in the writing juxtaposed with descriptions of the appalling conditions of people crossing seas in flimsy boats, dehumanised by the horror of their experience.

The piece came to life during interactions between the two actors but as most of the story was told through the medium of a narrator, it created a disconnection from the humanity of the stories being told. Scenes that should have been gripping felt too opaque to connect to the heart.
 
Wisdom Iheamo and Ola Teniola both brought a real stage presence, which was core to the story telling, although Iheamo spoke with such rapidity that he often swallowed his words making it hard to understand what he was saying. Given he was the narrator, this made the story, which went backward and forwards in time, unclear at critical points.

Teniola effortlessly morphed between one character and another, and the physicality of his performance as he folded and unfolded his long limbs to clamber over the sparse set brought a much-needed energy and focus which held the piece together.
 
Sarah Beaton’s set design was as stunning as it was simple.

The pace never altered, which lent a static quality to the play, which could have been addressed with more insightful direction. Overall, what the piece lacked was the creation of an emotional connection with the tragic characters whose important stories were being told.

Photos by Ali Wright

ONE WHO WANTS TO CROSS by Marc-Emmanuel Soriano, translated by Amanda Gann, Finborough Theatre, 31 January – 25 February 2023

Tickets: https://finboroughtheatre.co.uk/production/one-who-wants-to-cross/

Performers: Wisdom Iheoma, Ola Teniola

Musicians: Louis Gulliver King and Alyssa Lynch

Director: Alice Hamilton

Set and costume design: Sarah Beaton

Lighting Design: Jamie Platt

Sound Design: Daniel Balfour

Produced by: Clarisse Makundul Productions in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough

Reviewer: Srabani Sen

Srabani is a theatre actress and playwright. As an actress she has performed at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (The Globe), the Arcola, Southwark Playhouse, The Pleasance and numerous fringe theatres, in a range of roles from Shakespeare to plays by new and emerging writers. She has written several short and full length plays. Her play Tawaif was longlisted for the ETPEP Finborough award, and her play Vijaya was shortlisted for the Sultan Padamsee Playwrights Award in Mumbai.