This new drama mixing the stories of three women travelling to England is emotionally charged, but lacks narrative clarity.
The show has been developed out of Norwich Theatre’s Being Migrant programme, part of its involvement in the Theatre of Sanctuary scheme, and is based on the performers real-life experiences.
It brings together fragments of the journeys of Daria, from Ukraine, Etta, from from Zimbabwe, and Deniz (alongside her husband, Suat) from Turkey – all at different times and in different circumstances.
Those experiences are delivered through a mix of theatrical devices, with Miche Montague’s direction bringing in movement, song, and even an impression of a dog, alongside dialogue in both English and native languages.
The outcome is an hour-long show that has emotional impact but lacks a clear narrative or message. We jump back and forth between the women’s stories, sometimes overlaid with recorded audio or video, and there is frequent use of repeated phrases or gestures, but mostly without the context of why these are meaningful. A row of shoes lines the edge of the stage and we often hear an instruction to take your shoes off, for example, but why this matters is never explicit.
Perhaps this – sometimes belligerent – obscurity is deliberate, meant to evoke the confuse of migration and living in unfamiliar cultures and territory, but it seems more like missed storytelling.
The four performers bring ample energy and emotion, but the production tries a little too hard at weaving together so many styles and quite disparate stories, risking the audience being left with a dazzling surface impression but little lasting connection.
- 3 Migrant Women continues at Norwich Theatre Stage Two until 5 September 2026.