From Angola, Kosovo, and Kurdistan, you find yourself at a library in Byker.
HERE, written by Lindsay Rodden and directed by Amy Golding, is a play that holds so many powerful lines that after you leave you can’t stop thinking of each word that was said.
The narrative runs through four seasons in a year, with four main characters' stories.
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Librarian Janet, played by Karen Traynor, is a funny character who occasionally mentions ‘British weather’ and ‘eyebrows’ - yes there are quite a few conversations about ‘eyebrows’!
She comes to Byker to self-discover her past self, after leaving England at a young age and living in Scotland, she returns to what she calls ‘a different place.’
The play centres itself around unfolding each character's stories.
Pauline, played by Joana Geronimo is a young energetic girl from Angola.
She has been in Byker for many years and has adjusted to her new life. She knows every person in the area she lives in and surprisingly starts saying Geordie words and phrases which has everyone in the audience laughing away.
Pauline has a story she wants to tell the world, she aspires to be a journalist and hear other people's stories too. Throughout the play, you discover her journey with books.
The story revolves around Lulja, played by Arieta Visoka and Pauline, who become best friends.
Lulja from Kosovo, moves to Byker and feels very isolated and trapped with her own thoughts and feelings.
Pauline helps her step out and discover Byker, where they find themselves at the local library.
The two friends are refugees, and they both have similar struggles of being accepted into society.
Janet is the character who represents someone who doesn’t know much about refugees and even though she reads many books, the actual stories that change her are Pauline’s, Lulja’s, and Salim’s.
As she is stuck between the four walls of the library ,she learns to discover a wider world with the three other characters, especially with Salim, played by Turkish actor Murat Erkek.
Salim is an intellectual man who has come from Kurdistan, he is very quiet in the first half of the play, almost invisible.
But the two young girls and Janet get him to break out of his shell and there is even a scene where they get him up to dance! Every single person in the audience was laughing at this point.
With humour and pain, the performances reveal an emotional journey of stories.
The use of stage lights was also effective in reflecting the emotions of the characters.
There was one moment when Salim stands under the lamp post and the spotlight is all on him, making his story of pain and struggle echo across the room.
And the light coming out of the books signifies the holiness of each of their stories.
Each character shadows the other, with the feelings of ‘not feeling belonged’ and sorrow of deep loneliness.
With this in mind, the performance has an informal atmosphere; audience members are free to talk to each other, translate and come and leave the auditorium as they wish.
There was also a 5-10 minute 'curtain raiser' performance from members of Curious Monkey's Arriving project.
All performances have captions available and you have to arrive 30 minutes before the show so the team can show you how to access these on your phone using The Difference Engine app.
HERE is at Northern Stage until March 12 and tickets start from £10.
Recommended age: 12+ and tickets can be booked through the box office: 0191 230 5151 or www.northernstage.co.uk
