‘A focus on western diplomacy dulls a genuinely terrifying period of Kurdish history’
On the night I saw Safe Haven, there was a performance by Kurdish musicians prior to the start of the play, and the walls of the Arcola Theatre were hung with historic photographs showing the events the play seeks to retell, accompanied by some useful placard information. There was a clear amount of care given to this night that gave a real impression of centring the culture and lives of the Kurdish people who the play seemed to centre around. Written by Chris Bowers, a former British diplomat, the play has some great insight on the governmental process of diplomacy. He clearly seeks to shine a light on a minoritised history most forget, but this centering on western diplomats ultimately limits the play’s narrative capability.
The show follows Catherine (Beth Burrows), a diplomat working for the British government, trying to manage the aftermath of the first gulf war. Paired with Clive (Richard Lynson), the two work to try and figure out a way to protect the Kurdish people fleeing Saddam Hussein’s regime, two of which are Najat (Eugenie Bouda) and Zeyra (Lisa Zahra).
Lisa Zahra is an undoubtable standout in the show. Her performance has an adaptability and distinction that allows her to play both the wife of a diplomat (Anne) and a Kurdish refugee (Zeyra). Props must also be given to Beth Burrows, who handles the show’s narration with care, and Mazum Gül, who gives the story some of the urgency it needs, playing the real-life Iraqi diplomat, Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, and real-life Kurdish activist Dlawer Ala’Aldeen. Gül does not get much stage time as these characters, which was surprising given the subject matter. It is unclear whether or not Catherine and Clive are real people also.
Some design choices felt a little confused, with props left onstage and a split stage that didn’t always feel necessary. Scenes taking place between office furniture and garden furniture could have taken place on the same blocks, given the play’s already non-naturalistic design. This would have given more space to the storyline following the Kurdish women fleeing. During their scenes, it often felt like they were working around these sets, which was somewhat how the show felt as a whole. The stories of the Kurdish characters felt somewhat secondary to the story of the British diplomats. Seeing the process of diplomacy laid out was insightful, but this didn’t quite carry the same urgency as the plight of the Kurdish people fleeing Saddam Hussein’s regime, so having them side by side, felt like a jarring contrast. The focus on this diplomacy dulls what could be a far more gripping play. It would have helped to see how the movement around this mountain range was physically exhausting and restrictive for our Kurdish characters, but working around these constant sets of Western offices and garden tables made for a somewhat subdued environment.
At the end, Clive congratulates Catherine saying “It’s not everyday someone tries to stop a genocide”, presenting her kind of diplomacy as something sort of noble. But it is her paid job, and the sudden discussion between the two about working against or within the system would be an interesting angle if it had been explored throughout the play. Catherine drops a line about how many Kurdish people and children died during the pass through the mountains, which came as a total surprise, given this is not mentioned or portrayed at all prior to this conversation, which only comes after the safe haven has been formed and agreed to.
It’s clear that Bowers has experience in diplomacy. The script is thorough to the point of overdensity. For someone well studied in politics and its functions, the show might be insightful. But for others, there is less focus on the human aspects of the play, even if they’ve been considered. Bowers’ efforts to include Kurdish characters in this narrative are appreciated, but incomplete. There is no stage time given to the Kurdish protestors who staged protests in London in 1991, occupying the Iraqi embassy, storming the Turkish one too. It is a bit of a travesty that the actions of those who were equally instrumental in getting the government to act are failed to be represented at all on stage.