Destination GB

Someone once called the Adriatic ‘the largest unmarked mass grave in Europe’. It’s a hard-hitting, controversial statement that speaks to human suffering at the heart of illegal immigration - and it isn’t remotely funny. The production Destination GB isn’t funny either; in contrast, however, it hasn’t got a cat's chance in hell of contributing anything meaningful to the debate on immigration.

The cast of five from St. Mary’s University College, Twickenham stumble through a wantonly clichéd interpretation of race and illegal migration which relies entirely on crude, cookie-cutter cultural and sexual stereotypes to propel its juvenile humour along the predictable trajectory of its underdeveloped plot. It is unclear whether the performance is over-scripted improv or an under-rehearsed play, but the result is undeniably shambolic. The performers seem to have forgotten that the key element in ensemble theatre is the interplay between actors and characters; in this show, it’s one way traffic towards Kieran Edwards, who with most of the lines and gags is carrying his companions the way Morcambe used to carry Wise, and Reeves used to carry Mortimer.

If this is supposed to be irony – and given that the only black member of the cast makes monkey noises and scratches her armpits, I hope it is – then it is unintelligent and unsubtle, and the punchline never comes. The closest this show gets to reflecting the realities of illegal immigration is in taking people’s money, shutting them into a small, dark, crowded space and letting them down badly.