The Friday Play:

Into Exile

Broadcast On: BBC Radio 4, Friday 3^rd December 1999

Review by Emma Shane,

© August 2004

I have rarely come across Louise Gold in the guise of a straight actress (though she is perfectly capable in this realm), and I’ve certainly never heard her on the radio other than as a Musical Theatre singer before! I was therefore somewhat surprised to find her in a play on BBC Radio 4. The point of the play Into Exile was that it is a play about ‘real people’. The actual characters may not exist, but their type do, refugees. Although the play is about refugees in general during the course of the twentieth century, there is a strong hint (especially with the use of music based on Balkan melodies) that the group in the story are meant to be Kosavan, although this is never explicitly stated.

The play opens, as one might expect, with the eviction, a lot of shouting and screaming, soldiers hounding everybody out, separating the Men folk from the Woman & Children, and the sound of machine-gun fire. Of the distinct characters in the story it is The Family: Mother, Babu (that means Grandmother), and two sons Mikla and Aram, played by Caroline Loncq, Alison Fiske, Richard Pearce, and, Giles Taylor respectively, who are clearly present. Then a narrator, in the form of the Teacher, played by David Acton takes up the story, describing the situation of leaving in a hurry, carrying the crippled, and the very young, and deciding what to take “Which? which? what? what?”. Meanwhile The Family are getting themselves ready for the journey into the unknown, and they too are noticing the scenes in the street around them. Mother asks why the prams are being smashed, Babu explains it is so they must carry the littlest ones. Teacher takes up the narrative to tell the audience that nothing has really changed in six thousand years, it’s the same old story of people being forced from their homes. This is illustrated with The Family, Mother wonders what to do, and Babu says they must count (the children and the parcels, but for the children’s sake not the dead). As they set off on the journey, adventurous child, Aram wanders to another part of the group, where he meets a Formerly-Wealthy-Couple, (whose names we later learn are) Krakor and Zilkha, played by Tony Bell and Alexandra Gilbreath. They have just escaped from a bomb blast that killed the little girl next door; Krakor still has her blood on him.

On the mountainside, the group from this particular village find themselves joining many other refugees on the road. Amongst them is a woman in labour, Teacher, and either Babu or possibly Mother, go to help. I’m not sure which of the actresses is voicing this miscellaneous woman, but whoever she is she’s a good screamer and quite loud. The baby, a boy is born dead. Babu says she can help dig too, and with spoons and their hands they bury the baby. Taking the narrator’s role, Teacher says he helped to bury four babies that day, they were wrapped in various things, such as paper, and one in its mother’s shawl. Sitting on the cold mountainside a stranger (who judging by her strong helpful character might be Magda), shows him how to make a fire, he seems quite disinterested “Don’t you want to warm your food?” asks the woman. Meanwhile The Family are eating onions, with Babu describing the various things one can do with an onion. Aram asks to give one to the Teacher, who doesn’t seem to have brought any food. The Family seem able to cope, but elsewhere on the mountainside camp others are finding it much more difficult. Zilkha is talking about how their farm IS a paradise, and Krakor has to keep gently reminding her it WAS a paradise, it isn’t theirs any more. The Family too, or at least Mother, while reflecting it’s the first time she’s ever camped out, recounts what their house was like, it wasn’t perfect, but it was their home. Meanwhile, Teacher, is wondering why he taught people at all, so that they could turn on him? It’s clear that some of the thugs who have turned them out could well be people they once knew. Teacher isn’t the only one on the verge of going mad. Zilkha is screaming at her husband, demanding to be held. By now Teacher, sitting alone is pondering the use of study, the only thing books are any use for is as fuel. Seeing him looking lonely, Magda, played by Louise Gold, approaches Teacher, she suggests that if they huddle together it will be warmer, and introduces herself. At least that’s one person whose got their head screwed on. Elsewhere in the camp, a miscellaneous man goes quietly mad at the sight of a tractor, and Babu starts counting up the dead.

The next morning Babu is still counting, only now she is counting the steps, so as to know exactly how many steps will carry her home. In his narrator’s role, Teacher describes walking with what’s left of his possessions on his back. He cannot think of anything comforting in his learning, nor can he picture himself in this exiled situation. The Family have spotted their current destination, the safe haven of The Border Camp. In The Border Camp, the nine refugee characters in this story are all in the same tent. When The Family reach the Camp itself, Babu is frightened of the men in uniform, so Aram is sent to stand with her, as Mother can’t risk leaving their place in the queue. Fifteen year old Mikla has to ask, Pasha, a Policeman (well he’s billed as a Policeman in the listing, but is actually a Border Camp Guard), played by Steven Mangan, where to get water. This turns out to be denoted by a blue flag. Seeing Mikla, Pasha is reminded of how beautiful this place was when he was fifteen, He doesn’t like having to be hard and keep order, he keeps wanting to cry for the refugees, he’s only nineteen. In his narrator’s role, Teacher gives a description of The Refugees in general at this point, a grubby fugitive, but not yet prepared to use the term exile. Zilkha is in much the same boat, and still confused “How can I keep house?” she asks, Krakor tries to comfort her.

An announcer, possibly Pasha, announces that “The Food Distribution Centre is now open”. Then there is the sound of a vehicle, perhaps a bus, arriving. Various of our central characters ask inquisitively “Who are they?”, until Magda says sharply “Isn’t it obvious”. It’s soon obvious to the listener, the bus contains rape victims. Enter a girl crying for a wash, we later learn this is Sabine, played by Jackie Morrison. Most of the characters, seem to ignore her plea, except one, kindly, practical Magda, says “I’ll take you to the showers”. She proceeds to help the girl, acting as look-out, and holding her clothes. But Magda is firm as well as kind, when Sabine begs for her to make the water hotter, she says simply “That’s as hot as it gets”. Sabine describes her ordeal to Magda, and then becomes hysterical again, screaming for the water to be hotter. It is sensible kindly Magda who calls her name, as if pleading with Sabine not to be hysterical, she’ll take care of her.

Krakor, Zilkha and The Teacher find the camp muddy. The Teacher won’t stop talking to himself, lamenting what a state he’s in. Sensible Magda tries to make him see that there are others in the tent worse off than he, and eventually gets him to come outside, where they can talk without disturbing the others. Now at last we get to learn a little about Magda, it seems she is some kind of stage performer, an actress. She recalls her sister in Greece visiting her, and bringing ouzo. She remembers how after the show she would “wrap my old old kimono, the one with the fiery dragon round me.” She’s brought her kimono with her (just the sort of thing an actress would bring with her into exile, perhaps). For the first time we realise that underneath her sensible practical exterior, Magda has feelings of her own, she even misses the traffic at 4am, its just that for the most part she keeps her feelings to herself, as the Teacher says she is the angel of their tent. In fact she’s something of a guardian angel too, as soon as the Teacher moves to go, she senses something not right with him and asks with a hint of concern in her voice “Where are you going?”, fortunately on this occasion he’s only going to the latrines (while there isn’t too much of a queue), and the tent angel soon has her hands full with another of her charges, as Sabine has slipped out looking for her, prompting Magda to quote a bit of Hecuba’s speech. Sabine seems strangely comforted by this, though Magda thinks she should rest. Thanks to Sabine we learn a little more about Magda, on being asked if she was a great actress she replies modestly, but with complete conviction “Passable cabaret singer, but I seem to remember a few things from my conservatory and a few years in repertory theatre.” A line which besides developing her character, also serves to remind us that all the characters in this play are meant to be types, common to almost any group of refugees in the twentieth century, and Magda is no exception, she’s a typical “actress” of any point in the century. Magda goes back to her recitation, and is so convincing Sabine thinks she must be speaking of herself, but she isn’t, as she says “Magda married, a mother, not bloody likely.” she was just speaking for all the others. Summing up the situation, and speaking for all of them is a key part of Magda’s character, a part that becomes even more apparent later on. It’s worth noting how well Louise Gold uses the subtle nuances in her voice to signify meaning and emotion, without going over the top, she really knows how to deliver her lines with total conviction, sounding as though she means them, but she also knows when to tone down the conviction, so that when Magda is reciting the radio audience will probably realise what she is doing, whether or not the other characters do.

Back in the tent Zilkha is urging Krakor to wash, as he smells, he retorts they all do, and they are both hungry. Then Zilkha (for once not being hysterical) notices there is something wrong. Mother has noticed too, and draws Mickla away. It is Magda who takes the narrators role to explain to the audience, that the Teacher has hanged himself. Our group of refugees are soon scheduled to depart the camp, by bus, with Babu counting the occupants of the tent. Sabine is to be sent to France, which she doesn’t want to go there, she wants to go home, but Magda tells her firmly “Not yet”. It is also Magda who offers to “be the centre of the wheel” so they can all keep in touch, if they write to her she’ll pass the news on. This is the means of showing us in the play what is happening to everyone, as we hear an example of their letters, well everyone that is except Magda herself. First of all Sabine, she has been sent to France and is in a farmhouse with four other girls, also rape victims. They hardly talk even amongst themselves. Every day she walks to the Refugee Centre three miles away to ask after her mother and father. Meanwhile The Family are in a good place (possibly Albania), in a house owned by an elderly postman. Mother is “talking” this letter to Mickla, as she doesn’t know how to write many words, just enough to write her name, which is important as they have so many new papers to sign, and she misses her husband. Krakor and Zilkha are in a cabin in Norway, Zilkha seems happier now that the sheets are clean and crisp (although not of the finest quality). Krakor has bought her a hair brush and a sewing machine, and she earns a little money mending the clothes of the other refugees and some of the villagers. However, Krakor is board, with nothing to do but walk, he is learning flower names in Norwegian.

A male narrator, possibly Krakor (or perhaps the ghost of the Teacher), in other words either Tony Bell or David Acton (I found it a little hard to distinguish them on voice alone), tells us that wars end, and refugees are drawn to returning to their home. To illustrate the point, we have The Family setting off to go home, in a tractor and wagon. Babu asks them to stop, and tells them to look at the light. For once Mother seems annoyed, at the delay, but Babu is seeing angels, and dies. An official comes along, to find out why they’ve stopped, and Mother makes the decision that they will take Babu’s body home again.

On arrival in the village, Krakor is nervous, and Zilkha complains he isn’t doing anything, he retorts that he got them back. He is determined to be positive, the fields are burnt, but enriched), two tractors and the house are gone, but his earth mover and one tractor are left. That was a personal view, now it’s time to see a wider picture, and who better to give us that than Magda, with a group of girls (presumably her friends and colleagues from before). “So girls you think this pile of stones is the old theatre?” she asks rhetorically. It is through her eyes we see the ruined main street: “The library a pile of rubble, the mosque a shell, the museums burned out.” Yet Magda still has her wit and practical upbeat outlook, the sky is clear, and the weather good.

Back to the more personal, The Family have reached their home, Mother realises with a shock, that she’s now head of the family, however, the three of them decide to go inside together, holding hands. The house is a mess, and the dishes are broken, but there’s a photo-album, yes they have work to do, but they can make a home. Elsewhere in the village, Sabine hears her name; it’s her father calling. Her parents are alive. Her mother is initially delighted to see her, but when she realises her daughter has been raped, she clearly reacts to the terrible disgrace, however, Papa says the three of them are lucky, lucky to be alive.

That first night back in the village is summed up by Magda and her theatrical crowd, standing on a heap of theatre stones, under the stars. They might not be much use at mending a roof, but they can sing, so Magda sings a song (her narrative tells us) she’s written especially for this night “A song of the great in spite of”. As soon as Magda starts singing, those of us who are familiar with Louise Gold’s talents will most likely recognise her big strong powerful voice (something we might well not have done from her speech, for she’s so clever with accents). In song Magda sums it all up. In spite of everything, it’s a positive upbeat ending, very much like the character of Magda herself, full of hope for a better future. A male narrator, perhaps the Teacher, perhaps Krakor in other words either David Acton or Tony Bell (I did find it a little hard to distinguish them on voice alone), brings the tone down, informing us that once a heart has been driven into exile it can never really return. He ends with a litany of names of peoples who have been driven into exile during the course of the twentieth century.

In all it’s a powerful radio play, and one designed to make the audience think. It is a piece of political theatre. In writing it Jan Hartman has been very careful not to specify the group of refugees as belonging to any one particular group. There is an implicit suggestion that they are Kosovan, but it is never more than implied, and in general they stand as symbols to represent all groups who have been forced into an exiled existence during the twentieth century. The characters themselves have been devised to represent different “ordinary people” caught up in the situation. Thus we have: A Family (minus its head man), a School-Teacher, a Rape-Victim, and a once Wealthy Couple, and an Actress. This last might have seemed an odd choice, after all can one call actors “ordinary people”? I was impressed by how they actually pulled this off, it was a testimony to Louise Gold’s vocal acting skills that she managed to make Magda, the actress, a very believable character. The character could so easily have seemed a little larger than life, and yet somehow she didn’t. It is perhaps worth noting that whereas most of the characters are introduced as their “type” before we get to know them, with Magda we get to know who she is first, before finding out what she is. The other main characters in this play were stereo-types – very well played believable stereo-types (all the performances were excellent, especially those by: Tony Bell, Alison Fiske, Caroline Loncq, and Jackie Morrison), but they were still stereo-types. Magda really stood out as an individual, the one character who we might not immediately think of as a stereotype. Yet, Louise Gold portrayed her so convincingly that one is left to question the idea that the character is not a stereo-type, after all actors are people too, surely they must get caught up in situations like this too? Indeed since one of the functions of The Arts, throughout history, is the record and reflect society, it is perhaps wholly appropriate to have an actress as a member of the group, and use that character as the eyes and ears to give us the wider picture.

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