LAB! Theatre’s 'The Claim' explores the harsh reality of immigration

Red lights illuminated the center of the room and sound bites from news broadcasts began to play. Humanitarian crisis in the DRC. Corporations exploiting workers. The Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations. 

Thus began LAB! Theatre’s production of “The Claim,” written by Tim Cowbury. The company's third production of the year was directed by Elikya Mwanda and produced by Izzy Mitchell, and ran from Feb. 22-24. 

The play is set in the United Kingdom and follows Congolese asylum seeker Serge, played by Nadia Jefferson, as he attempts to tell his story but is repeatedly shut down by border control officials simply referred to as “A” (Chayton Fair) and “B” (Anushka Saroha). 

Mwanda said that as soon as she read the play, she knew that she wanted to direct it. 

“My dad's side of the family is Congolese, and I had never come across any piece of media ever that talked about a Congolese person's story specifically,” she said. 

At the core of the play is the theme of mistranslation and miscommunication, due to not only language barriers but cultural differences. The show explores the flaws and injustices of the immigration process by emphasizing how the immigration officers dehumanize Serge. 

Audience members were seated in a circle surrounding the stage, a purposeful, uncomfortable design that allows for viewers to watch not just the actors, but the reactions of other audience members.

As the mistranslation compounded and escalated, the audience grew increasingly agitated. Some viewers let out exasperated groans and sighs, while others put their heads in their hands.

Mwanda said that this was a specific choice she made to inspire self-reflection in the audience, as it can be easy for people to disengage from global issues that don’t affect them directly. 

“Anti-Blackness is so rampant,” Mwanda said. “So I think when bad things happen to Black people, it’s easy for people to check out and not care.” 

Another compelling theme of the play was the audience’s attitude toward the immigration officers, who handled communication with Serge in very different ways. 

Anushka Saroha, who played B, said that that many people came up to her after the show to tell her how they hated her character, while they found the character of A more entertaining. 

While B may have been more harsh, A was no less complicit in causing misunderstandings. Serving as the interpreter between Serge and B, A was also directly involved in creating mistranslation. 

Although Saroha didn’t think B was a good person, she emphasized how B’s experience as a woman of color shaped her actions in certain ways. 

Lighting choices also emphasized miscommunication — at critical moments in the show, the lights would often turn red, emphasizing the conflict between the characters. 

Lighting director Tara Penman said that lighting choices impact where the audience’s attention is directed, and she wanted to use red light to emphasize the biases of the immigration officers and how Serge was treated as a stranger by A and B. 

“It was going to be more striking to do blue or red, but I liked the red because of violence, like the undertones of violence, or just the biases,” Penman said. 

Mwanda said that the play was especially poignant given current real-world political situations.

While most people at UNC are generally aware of current events and social injustices, Saroha said, she thinks this show could help audiences reflect on these issues at a deeper level.

“I think there’s a very key difference between knowing something and seeing something,” Saroha said. 

Nadia Jefferson currently works as an assistant lifestyle editor at The Daily Tar Heel.

@dthlifestyle | lifestyle@dailytarheel.com