Life behind the razor wire

October 16, 2002
Issue 

Woomera
Written by Joshua Wakely
Performed by Joshua Wakely, Susannah Hardy, Laurence Coy, Hillary
Picture

Manning, Ben Barrack and Craig Menaud
Old Fitzroy Hotel Theatre, corner of Cathedral and Dowling streets, Woolloomooloo
Tuesdays to Saturdays, 8pm; Sundays, 5pm
$24/$18 concession,$30 for the "beer and laksa show" (a percentage

will be donated to the Refugee Action Coalition)
Until October 26
Book on (02) 9294 4296 or visit <http://www.lastminute.com.au>

REVIEW BY SARAH STEPHEN

Posters for Woomera urge theatre-goers to come and "find out what life is like behind the razor wire". True to its word, Woomera tackles the issue of the detention of asylum seekers head on.

At times confronting and very moving, Woomera dramatises the brutality of life in detention: the dehumanisation of refugees by the guards and the anguish of the asylum seekers locked up indefinitely. It is the story of the moral struggle of one guard to reconcile the nature of his job with what he believes.

Woomera is the creation of 21-year-old Joshua Wakely. Its origin is in a short play which made the finals of the Write Now! young playwrights competition, for which Wakely was awarded professional help to fine tune the play. Workshopping with the director and actors further developed the promising new work.

The intimate atmosphere of the cosy 65-seat studio theatre, at the back of the Old Fitzroy Hotel in Woolloomooloo, places you close enough to see the actors' every facial expression and feel the terror of the asylum seekers as they are mistreated by the guards.

Justin, played by Wakely, is a somewhat naive young man who arrives at his new job as a guard at Woomera detention centre. Initially, he thinks his job will be easy, but he is soon confronted with disturbing questions.

The banter between Laurence Coy, who plays Richard Flint, Justin's boss, and Ben Barrack, who plays Nick, an up-and-coming guard, is at times funny, but deeply disturbing. Coy gives his staff regular lectures about the role of detention centres in making all Australians feel safe.

Wakely told Green Left Weekly that the actors visited Villawood a number of times, where they spent time talking to both the detainees and guards. Some of the dialogue in the play comes directly from conversations they had there, which makes it all the more disturbing.

Hillary Manning gives a moving performance as Amiel, a refugee from Afghanistan. She tackles the role with enormous sensitivity, giving Amiel an air of strength and dignity, which reflects the character of so many asylum seekers. Amiel's brother, Kashar, superbly played by Craig Menaud, is a passionate young man with a determined spirit, who spends much of his time in solitary confinement because of his refusal to submit to the humiliating and dehumanising authoritarianism of the guards.

Manning and Menaud give vivid portrayals of the grief and powerlessness of the people whose harsh experiences are being ignored by Australia's refugee determination system.

In collecting material for the play, Wakely collaborated with the activists involved in the Woomera Refugee Embassy, who visited detainees at the centre and compiled many of their stories.

Despite his attempts to remain unmoved by the asylum seekers held in Woomera, Justin develops a bond of friendship with Amiel and Kashar.

Wakely told GLW that when he wrote the play, he thought he might have to revise the detail to take out anything that wasn't true or was exaggerated. Wakely suspected he might have to remove references to children being held in solitary confinement. He was shocked to find there was no exaggeration and that, if anything, he had to add things in.

"I want people to come and see it who aren't convinced that Australia's treatment of refugees is wrong", Wakely added, "because theatre can help to humanise refugees and their experiences". He wants people to come away from the play convinced that refugees are people just like us.

From Green Left Weekly, October 16, 2002.
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