Adventures in exile

Full Frontal Theatre has recorded the experiences of more than 100 Zimbabweans in Britain and improvised around them to offer a non-sensationalist view of life in exile that is as entertaining as it is edifying.

Qabuqa meshes diverse scenes from immigrants' lives with moments of physical theatre and audience interaction. Such moments have a genuine experimental feel to them - that is, they don't work that well - but they add to the charm of a show that does not take itself too seriously.

Ben Evans's script eschews graphic descriptions of torture and death to focus on the mundanities of asylum-seeker life, observed with humour and a sympathy for those on the other side of the administrative divide. A raped woman is inappropriately pressed for details by a solicitor, but we recognise that his tireless efforts have made him immune to personal tragedies. An established immigrant is sentimental enough to give a countrywoman a break, but, ever the businesswoman, offers work at the tiniest of salaries.

The play is alert, too, to the class divides that persist among emigrants. The white characters, with memories of Rhodesia, still find themselves instructing black care workers. A black woman maintains a snobbery towards those of darker hue. The focus on characterisation above contrived drama diminishes towards the end, as the company looks to go out with a bang, but the light touch of the earlier sections give us another example of how powerful the documentary method can be.
Until 15 July (020 7582 7680).

South Africa Theatre Season: QABUKA: Adventures In Exile