REVIEW: WIPE THESE TEARS by BÉZNĂ THEATRE at Camden People’s Theatre 11 – 22 October 2022

‘challenging, participatory theatre with a political imperative’ ★★

The primal sound of a child crying has been scientifically proven to create apprehension in others. It sets off the brain’s amygdala or fear response and creates a low-level concern in listeners. This sound accompanies several scenes in WIPE THESE TEARS. We don’t see the baby; it has no name but the sound tells the audience there is something to fear and it creates a sense of anxiety.

An ambitious play that strives to expose imperial oppression reveals itself in historic slices that move across centuries and borders. Some theatre aims to provide escapism, some invites reflection. This work has an unapologetically political agenda to expose challenging stories of injustice, dramatise scenes of dissent-crushing and galvanise a response in the audience. It’s also about resistance and aims to give voice to the marginalized and dispossessed. “Can you grieve for a country?” asks one character.

Based on interviews with 90 individuals including survivors of war and torture, activists and academics, the British-Romanian BĖZNÃ Theatre collective promote a collaborative, participatory approach and include communities in their creative process. Written by Sinziana Cojocārescu, also co-artistic director alongside Nico Vaccari, WIPE THESE TEARS follows Illegalised and The People’s Tribunal: Afghanistan Sessions: Crimes of Aggression. This production extends Camden People’s Theatre's reputation for promoting diverse, new writers, theatre-makers and supporting local communities.

In this production, the mainly female, global majority cast (Lizzie Clarke, Sofia Danu, iulia isar, Shala Nyx, Sama Rantisi) play unnamed ‘types’ including soldier, teacher, parent and pupil. In a series of human dramas that highlight inequality, the action shifts between different worlds, some in distant faraway lands like Afghanistan, some in British schools and terraces. The trigger warning list you are presented with before the performance gives an indication of the scale of subjects to be tackled. These include genocide, torture, suicide, detention and child abuse. Locations, characters and times change but the underlying themes of tyranny and repression connect them all.

This is protest theatre that aims to wake audiences to what’s happening in the world and the universal human suffering incurred but its fragmented, overloaded form sometimes works against this intention. Viewers are expected to switch focus and retain empathy for characters that come and go, and the historical layering is confusing for anyone without a solid knowledge of the events. There were some technical hitches but the ambition underlying this production should be applauded.

Using multi-media including video and live music composed by Kareem Samara, alongside the crying baby, we sometimes hear a grating guitar riff reminiscent of the Velvet Underground or songs of poetic lament by Sama Rantisi and Shala Nyx. The integrity of BĖZNĀ’s agenda, the sense these are real lives we witness, our brothers and sisters, is underlined by the fact there is no bow at the end by the cast who file out in respectful silence and solidarity. There is no glory or gratification in this subject, we are all complicit and the audience is left with uneasy questions.

Photography: Ali Wright

BÉZNĂ THEATRE presents

WIPE THESE TEARS by Sînziana Cojocărescu

Tue 11 Oct - Sat 22 Oct at 7pm

Box Office: https://cptheatre.co.uk/whatson/Wipe-These-Tears

 

Reviewed by Nilgin Yusuf

Nilgin recently graduated from a four-year Creative Writing degree at Birkbeck, where she discovered a dormant appreciation for theatre, scriptwriting and stagecraft. An experienced author, lecturer and journalist (ex-Sunday Times, Daily Telegraph and ELLE) Nilgin is developing her first full-length stage play, supported by Mrs.C’s Collective and the Arts Council.