A Lesson on Humanity: The Container

The Container is a thoughtful play that tells a story about five poor refugees hiding in a container of a truck while smuggling goods to England. The Container is directed by the Tom Wright and written by the amazing Clare Bayley. The play is available for view on Digital Theatre.

Written by Weon Taek Na

The container takes place in a real container, inside a standard truck moving across Europe towards England. There are five refugees inside this container as well as one middleman. The refugees are from multiple countries. Despite the already poor conditions that the refugees are in, the middleman requests additional fifty dollars to stay inside the container. The dark atmosphere with the addition of the poor conditions that the refugees are in creates a tension incomparable to any other play.

Despite viewing the production through online media, I was able to immerse into the immense captivation that the actors were able to deliver. The actors, through their high standard acting, and the production stage, through its dark atmosphere, created a feeling of immense struggle that was vivid throughout the entire play. Throughout the play, the refugees created an atmosphere of struggle for survival and safety.

The designs of all elements, including the costumes and production designs, for this play were absolutely perfect. Each design of each element had a purpose in the play. For example, the costume of the businessman was able to efficiently portray his wealth. Another example is the lighting inside the container. Instead of the stage being brightly lit, it was portrayed in the dark with small amount of light from either the flashlights held by the refugees or from outside the door of the container.

Overall, The Container was a fruitful experience to watch. The powerful story, in tandem with great acting, was able to ask much of the social problems we still are facing today such as illegal immigrants, gender inequality and social class. I highly recommend The Container as a performance to watch and contemplate about under these stressful times. Be healthy and safe!