The Cockpit, London – until 28 July 2026
Reviewed by Mike Linane
3***
Transit is an evocative show about migration. It is an award-winning, genre-bending investigation of identity, belonging and migration. Told through a series of vignettes utilising physical theatre, multilingual performance, poetry, dance, multimedia, practical lights and music, Transit delicately navigates the feeling of being ‘too foreign for here, too foreign for home.’
From the endless cycle of unpacking and repacking to wondering when you can stop being considered ‘a foreigner’ to building community and hope admist uncertainty, this deeply human piece is a love letter to anyone who has ever moved away from home.
It is based on true stories gathered from migrants across the UK, Transit asks: what does it mean to settle in the space between languages, cultures and identities? The five performers Ting-Ning Wen, Bethany Monk-Lane, Aijamal Nasirdinova, Niamh Smith and Danlu Peng all have their own moments in the spotlight to shine and recount their own experiences of being a migrant.
So, how do you pack a life into your luggage allowance of 23 kilograms? One item at a time. The audience are asked to decide between various items that one of our travellers wishes to bring with them.
The language barrier and trying to get used to British food when you have lived all of your life eating exotically are two more dilemmas covered in this thought-provoking experience not to mention having to “hold on your call is important to us” when needing to speak to someone at the Home Office Immigration Department when you are number 495 in the queue and when you finally get through you discover you are talking to a chat bot which doesn’t understand that you need to speak to a “human agent”. What exactly do you do when you finally speak to someone who although they are speaking English seem to be speaking a totally different language to you because they talk in “official-speak” and you just want to explain your own dilemma and have them help sort it out for you.
This is a short but fun show (running at 75 minutes) that will have you laughing and crying and all stages of emotion in between. There is some audience participation for those that aren’t the faint-hearted type in the form of a Home Office television quiz show which is great fun – win the show and you’re allowed to stay in the UK, lose it and …. Well, I think you can guess what’s likely to happen to you.
This production will appeal to audiences of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. Certainly the audience that attended last night was one of the most diverse I have seen in a theatre in a very long time and I recommend it to anyone looking for a different sort of night out at the theatre that will make them stop and think about what it is really like to be a migrant in a foreign country.