On Wednesday night, December 5th, I made a trek from my home in Gravesend, Brooklyn to DUMBO, Brooklyn to watch the play The Jungle. After arriving not even 5 minutes late with my fellow Brooklyn friends, Renee, Frieda, Esther, and Danielle, we were told we cannot enter the theater until intermission. The staff was very unfriendly and would not tell us when intermission was, so we were forced to wait in the cold for almost one full hour. We tried to compare our experience in the cold to a jungle. The trees and bushes helped us set the scene, while we anxiously waited to be allowed inside.
When we did enter the theater, I was shocked. I did not expect the set to be a maze with different rooms and look like the actual jungle of Calais, with shops and restaurants. When intermission ended, our group was escorted to our seats and I was fascinated to learn that we were sitting not in sections, but in “countries”. Our class sat in Ethiopia, but other countries included Afghanistan, Syria, Egypt, and Palestine. I was a bit shocked that they called it Palestine, and not Israel, but maybe it was something I missed because I missed the first half of the show.
It was difficult to understand what exactly was going on when the second act first started. I wasn’t sure who the characters were and what the setting of the act was. We were introduced to two characters, Beth and Safi, who I believe were people who acted as leaders in the refugee camp. Safi was a refugee himself from Syria. He cared about helping others, and was trying to help everyone else out before helping himself. This was very admirable and stuck with me through the second act of the play. When Safi was offered the onion, that represented his freedom, he initially declined it. While watching this I was rooting for Safi and saying to myself, “No Safi! Take it! You are the good guy here! You have spent too much time helping others, it is time to help yourself!” I think that Safi realized the same thing, and when he decided to take the onion for himself, I was happy that he was standing up for himself. At some point, you can only help yourself. I think I felt such a deep connection to Safi’s character because he reminded me a lot of myself. I always try to help others, and am very selfless when doing that. I too will usually sacrifice myself in order to assist those in need. Safi showed me that sometimes you need to just let your guard down, and take care of yourself sometimes.
I loved the play overall. I wish that I was able to see the first half, and really get the full experience, but I think it is really amazing that I loved it even though I was lost. I can only imagine what it would have been like had I got to see the entire plot progression.
Hi Rachel,
I love how even though you guys had to suffer through an unfortunate experience being stuck in the cold, you guys still made the most of the situation by comparing your experience in the cold to a jungle by observing the nature around you. I agree with you when you said you did not expect the room to be arranged like that. I also did not expect that at all, at most I expected the typical stage with the audience all together with intricate set designs. The way they presented the show in the room in that way blew me away. I understand that you guys were definitely confused since you only got to start watching from after intermission, because I was there the entire play and there were still times when I would get a little lost with what was happening. Overall, I had the same feelings as you, I loved it.
Rachel!!
I love how you wrote about the layout of the place and how it was decorated. I also did not expect it to be like that and felt that it enhanced the experience. The cast also did a great job capturing the trauma of being a refugee. The scene you chose to depict was indeed a powerful one as Beth begged Safi to take the onion. I felt my insides begging for him to escape as well but also felt the war going on inside Safi. It’s always a difficult when choosing between yourself and others and I felt the hardship Safi went through as well.. Great job