Skip to main content
Amnesty International UK
Log in

Amnesty and Young Vic present 'The Container'

The Container by Clare Bayley tells the story of immigrants trying to smuggle themselves into the UK inside a sealed container to start a new life. It takes place - actors and audience packed close together - inside a container lorry.

The Container was the hit of the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe, winning a Scotsman Fringe First and The Amnesty International Freedom of Expression award.

Working together with Amnesty, the Young Vic has made it possible for London to share the experience. This summer The Container will play inside a container parked in The Cut for three weeks. Each performance has space for an audience of just 28.

“Most of us are isolated from the immigrant experience,” Clare Bayley says. “We might read about these people in newspapers but we seldom hear their stories from their own mouths. Everything in The Container is based on actual events that really happened to someone.”

Young Vic Artistic Director David Lan says: “Theatre is always an expression of our common humanity. In life there are no bit parts, no walk ons. Everybody matters equally. I am delighted that, in association with Amnesty International and supported by a number of well-wishers, we can give new life to this powerful performance, this unique evocation of the experience of the thousands who risk everything to share the life opportunities we take for granted.”

Amnesty International UK Director Kate Allen says:

“People who seek asylum here are so often demonised in the media or referred to as faceless statistics. This play brings those people to life and gives them a voice. The Container deservedly won Amnesty’s Freedom of Expression Award for bringing these issues to a wide audience. We’re delighted to be associated with these performances at the Young Vic.”

Clare Bayley Bayley’s previous plays include The Enchantment (NT) and The Woman who Swallowed a Pin (Southwark Playhouse) which was listed as one of the Top Ten Plays of 2000 by Time Out and The Observer. For radio: The Bringer of Sweets, Guatemala Moon and Northern Lights (BBC R4). Film: Corridors in the Air, winner of The Sunday Times Screenwriting award.

Tom Wright Wright’s directing credits include Young Hamlet, The Soul of Ch’ien-Nu Leaves Her Body (Young Vic), Twelfth Night (Cambridge Arts Theatre), The Tempest (Southwark Playhouse), Shoes (Nottingham Arts Theatre), The Water Engine (Theatre 503/Young Vic), Workplay (TIS, Madrid), Small Waves (The Powerhouse, Nottingham and Methodica, Vancouver), Ay Carmela! (York Theatre Royal and international tour) and The Good Person of Sichuan (The Drum, Birmingham).

The Container is directed by Tom Wright and designed by Naomi Dawson with sound by Adrienne Quartly.

View latest press releases