The Bogus Woman

Last year The Red Room production company wrote to me and asked for a donation to help put on this play at the 2000 Edinburgh Festival. I liked the sound of the project - it's beautifully written and very moving, so I was happy to contribute.

Kay Adshead's play follows the story of an African refugee arriving in Britain, being detained in Campsfield House, managing to get out because she is given an address, then losing that flat and ending up on the streets - and finally going back to Africa. It's based on testimony and true stories - and pretty heart-rending.

The whole issue of detention is something that needs attention drawn to it. The idea that people should be held because of a fear they are going to abscond is spurious. The majority of detainees aren't actually awaiting deportation, they are people whose cases are waiting to be heard. It is appalling to criminalise people just for asking to live in our country. The whole hypocrisy appals me, especially Labour portraying itself as this paragon of anti-racism and at the same time criminalising and hounding people from all over the world.

This play highlights how difficult it is to arrive in a country and be able to give all this information, have all your paperwork in order and prove what has happened to you. An obvious fact about political persecution is that oppressive states tend to cover their tracks. If five masked men burst into your flat and beat you up, they don't tell you they are police officers, but you kind of know.

It will be a tour de force from Noma Dumezweni, who plays all the characters. I hope it gets a lot more attention - it will shame this government terribly.

The Bogus Woman