Closed Lands

Why is the ‘free world’ obsessed with walls?

A unique fusion of poetry, satire, reportage, multimedia and traveller’s diary, Closed Lands, by French playwright Simon Grangeat, traces the history of modern walls – real and metaphorical – from Berlin to the US. Beginning in 1989 with the euphoria for the fall of the wall – “the end of shame”, as it was described – it moves in space and time to Mexico, the Sahara desert, and the wall of water surrounding “Fortress Europe”, ending with the wall of bureaucracy faced by asylum seekers.

Our production features a cast of women rotating through the roles of migrant, politician, citizen and CEO and a VIP bot, all part of a perverse mechanism that feels at once random and repetitive. A live camera projects part of the action on screen, as our lives become increasingly part of a gigantic video game where even the most dramatic situations can be sold to the public as entertainment. Based on factual research, and performed by actors who are all migrants in the UK, Closed Lands chronicles our obsession with walls and journey back to shame.

Funded by Arts Council England

First created in 2020

Performed at

Arcola Theatre (staged reading)

VAULT Festival, London
(UK premiere)

Length: 60 minutes

VIEW TRAILER

WRITTEN BY:
Simon Grangeat

TRANSLATED BY:
Laure Fernandez and LegalAliens

DIRECTED BY:
Becka McFadden

ASSOCIATE DIRECTION:
Jonathan Millington

LIGHT & PROJECTION DESIGNER:
Julien Bernard-Grau

CAST:

Luiana Bonfim, Catharina Conte, Daiva Dominyka, Becka Fadden

SET UP & COSTUME DESIGN:
Laura Rouzet