Tess Berry-Hart's CARGO Premieres Tonight at the Arcola Theatre

Goods get damaged all the time. Wouldn't want to spoil the cargo, now, would we?

CARGO is an enthralling new play from author and playwright Tess Berry-Hart (Someone to Blame, Sochi 2014). Directed by Evening Standard Award nominee David Mercatali (Little Light, Radiant Vermin), this timely world premiere is a tense and provocative thriller that reveals just how much people are willing to risk in search of a better life.

The production will play the Arcola Theatre (24 Ashwin Street, Dalston, London E8 3DL) from tonight 6th July to Saturday 6th August 2016. Press night is slated for Friday 8th July, 8pm.

A group of exiles sit in the dark of a container ship with nothing but the clothes on their backs and their wits to rely on. Their homes have been destroyed and their lives upturned, forcing them to take a great leap into the unknown.

As they journey ever closer to their destination in the hope of finding a future, they question what awaits them and if those who pose the greatest threat to their safety might, in fact, be concealed amongst them. But where have they come from? And who are they?

CARGO is, in part, inspired by Tess Berry-Hart's experiences as a founding member of Calais Action, a grassroots collective run by ordinary people to help tackle the current refugee crisis. Calais Action has sent hundreds of tonnes of humanitarian aid to Calais, Dunkirk, Hungary, Samos, Lesvos, Leros and Chios and raised thousands of pounds to provide food, medicines, and infrastructure for those in desperate need. Cargo builds on these real life experiences and explores the conflicted loyalties that arise when people are forced to flee their homes, to trust in strangers and confront the possibility of betrayal by those closest to them.

CARGO invites the audience to experience their story. With a fully immersive set made from packing materials and shown in the round from OFFIE-nominated Max Dorey (No Villain, Teddy, Lardo), atmospheric sound from OFFIE-nominated Max Pappenheim (Toast, Wink, Little Light), and evocative lighting from OFFIE-winning Christopher Nairne (This Will End Badly, Lionboy, Coolatully), this trio will recreate the claustrophobic conditions of a shipping container.

This is a gripping thriller that offers a personal and unique take on the migrant crisis, dissecting one of the defining social issues of our time. Tess Berry-Hart comments, My desire is to give the audience an immersive, visceral experience, as if they were refugees travelling secretly in a darkened cargo container. I want them to consider the questions: What if this were us? How would this feel? What would we do?

Produced by Metal Rabbit Productions (Radiant Vermin, Johnny Got His Gun, Lardo).

IF YOU GO:

CARGO by Tess Berry-Hart

Wednesday 6th July - Saturday 6th August 2016
Monday - Saturday, 8pm
Saturday matinees, 3.30pm
Running time: 80 minutes

At Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, Dalston, London E8 3DL

Tickets are available from www.arcolatheatre.com and on 020 7503 1646 - priced £17 (£14)

Arcola Theatre is located on Ashwin Street, off Kingsland Road. The nearest stations are Dalston Kingsland and Dalston Junction (on the London Overground). Both connect with Highbury and Islington (on the Victoria and Overground Lines), Whitechapel (on the District and Hammersmith and City Lines) and Stratford (on National Rail and the Central, Jubilee and DLR Lines). Hackney Downs station, ten minutes by train from Liverpool Street, is a 3-minute bus ride on numbers 30 and 56.

Tess Berry-Hart is a novelist and playwright. Her young adult series of novels, currently comprising Escape from Genopolis and Fearless, is published by Scolastics book. Her plays include Someone to Blame (King's Head Theatre) and Sochi 2014 (Hope Theatre) She was part of the Royal Court Young Writers programme, where she was tutored by Hanif Kureshi and Simon Stephens. In 2015 she want longlisted for the Channel 4 'Coming Up' programme.

David is an award-winning stage director. In 2015 his productions Tonight with Donny Stixx by Philip Ridley and You Look Tasty! by Stewart Pringle played at the Edinburgh Fringe at the Pleasance Theatre. His most recent previous production, Philip Ridley's new play Radiant Vermin, enjoyed a sell-out run at the Soho Theatre; The Stage described it as masterfully directed. Prior to that he directed Alice Birch's Little Light at the Orange Tree Theatre. David has successfully staged new work from writers including Critics Circle Award winner Barney Norris, multi-award winner Timberlake Wertenbaker and Harold Pinter Playwrights Award winner Anders Lustgarten. He picked up a Fringe First award for Dark Vanilla Jungle 2013, and was nominated for Off West End awards for Best Director in both 2011 and 2014. In 2011 he was also nominated for the Evening Standard Outstanding Newcomer Award 2011. David is currently the Associate Director, Southwark Playhouse, a Programming Advisor for Tristan Bates Theatre, and serves on the board of Stage Directors UK.

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