Refuge by Mary Vingoe

Refuge tells the story of a refugee claimant from the Horn of Africa and the struggles he and those around him face as he tries to make his way through Canada’s convoluted immigration system. The story is adapted in part from the CBC Radio documentary, “Habtom’s Path” by Mary Lynk. Ayinom is a former soldier from Eritrea who has arrived in Canada without papers and seeks refugee status. Seen through the eyes of the couple that take him in and the lawyer who represents him, the play lays bare the shortfalls of the refugee system as it exists in Canada today. Refuge combines two distinct aesthetics: adding “verbatim” text from CBC radio interviews to the fictional world of the characters involved.
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Eastern front Theatre, Neptune Theatre Studio, Halifax N.S. 2013

Eastern front Theatre, Neptune Theatre Studio, Halifax N.S.

Director

Written by Mary Vingoe
Director - Emma Tibaldo
Featuring: Hugh Thompson, Christian Murray, Samantha Wilson, Shelley Hamilton, Muoi Nene, Natalie Tannous
Stage Manager - Sylvia Bell
Costumes - Helena Marriott
Set - Sue LePage
Sound - Paul Cram

Reviewed by Ekaterina Sushko

Intense silence. Lights off.

The audience holds their breath foretasting the action.

The setting is simple: Stairs, a small dais on the right and…nothing else so far. Six actors are standing motionless, upstairs, in different postures.

Then the play starts leading spectators through the story as if it set in a dark park: Floodlights illuminate different parts of the stage at different moments to reveal separate parts of the narrative. Our goal is to find a connection between these fragments.

As the play goes on, tracing connection becomes more and more interesting. “What happened? What happened?”… This question keeps emerging in everyone’s head.

The story uncovers important immigration issues and difficulties unknown to most Canadians. The accents, the dress and the manners of the characters are very natural: The diverse background of the actors make the play especially real.

The denouement is totally unexpected and finally all of the pieces tie together—you finally realize what happened. The ending is powerful and shows how indifferent we sometimes are and how little attention we pay to people who live so close to us.

This is definitely one of those plays that give you something to think about. It raises important issues while offering funny moments in between. Six actors and a simple setting create a very powerful emotion, evoke sympathy and make the audience think what life is like for an immigrant coping with difficult circumstances.

Refuge An unflinching look at Canada's relationship to those seeking help By Kate Watson - The Coast Daily

Six actors stand on the catwalk above the stage against a backdrop of boney, wintery trees. They’re suffused in a cold blue light. Eerie, prickly music ebbs and flows around them. One sighs. Another yelps. One breaks into a keening wail. So begins Mary Vingoe’s Refuge, the story of an Eritrean soldier named Ayinom who arrives in Canada without papers and seeks refugee status. The first scene tells us this story will not have a happy ending. Ayinom is never seen. We come to know him by what others say about him. His mother Amleset (Shelley Hamilton) describes him as “a good boy”. His new-found friend Membratu (Muoi Nene) talks of his work ethic and dependability. Pamel and Alan (Natalie Tannous and Christian Murray), the couple who take him, see a side of him that makes them more suspicious. His brilliant lawyer Saul (Hugh Thompson), who is equal parts head and heart, sees the possibility of goodness and darkness in everyone. Vingoe has woven in actual text from a CBC radio documentary on the tragic story of a refugee claimant. The scenes between the interviewer (Samantha Wilson) and her interviewees ground the story in the awful truth that here in Canada we often fail the vulnerable who seek our help.

Finalist for the Nova Scotia Masterworks Award

Eastern Front Theatre