Premiere: 5th June 2015, Discover21, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Written and directed by Marie Yan
Cast: Raquel Grela, Maryann Mackelvie
(19.05.2018) To this day, the UK is the only of the European Union with no legal limit for the detention of immigrants. Until The Court of Appeal ruled the Detained Fast-Track Procedure unlawful in 2015 after more than ten years of activity, thousands of asylum seekers were screened and sent to detention centres across the country for periods up to several years. 99% of their claims rejected. For the Refugee Festival Scotland 2015, we delved into the reports of NGOs fighting against this system (Detention Action, Women for Refugee Women) to bring to the stage the story of a young woman going through every stage of this procedure. Theresa May, UK’s prime minister was a staunch defendant of the Detained Fast-Track and detention centres continue to run all over th UK. #SetHerFree
“The food is awful
It’s not just the taste
It’s the way they give it
They don’t think we deserve it”
Claiming asylum in the UK, like thousands of refugees each year, Marthes is put into the Detained Fast-Track Procedure. An endless questioning begins that will strip down her whole life. Is she telling the truth? Can she?
The story of Marthes is fictional, yet it’s based on multiple accounts of the Detained Fast Track in the UK. A widely unknown procedure, particularly detrimental to women refugees.
More info on the DFT can be found here. To this date, Yarl’s Wood Center, the immigration detention centre where the play is set, is still running.
Performed on the 5th, 6th and 7th June 2015 at Discover21, Edinburgh, part of the 2015 Refugee Festival Scotland.
horsescrossing.wordpress.com 