Forgotten In The Land of Egypt
Much more than a piece of agitprop designed to galvanise us into action over Global Warming.
Norwich Theatre
“And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following; for it shall be very grievous.” (Genesis, Chapter 41, Vs 30-31)
It is from this Old Testament quote that Tom Murray drew the title for his play 'Forgotten In The Land of Egypt'. Inspired by the landscape of The Fens, a large low-lying area of former salt marshes, drained in the 15th Century, and dominated by the Isle of Ely, and upon which slightly higher ground stands the magnificent Ely Cathedral.
Presented at Norwich Theatre’s Stage Two venue by members of The Mango Ensemble, and directed by Katie Thompson, Murray's work opens in the year 2050. Rising sea levels have reclaimed the Fenland marshes, creating a watery dystopian landscape where a boy and a girl (played by Isabella Thompson and Layla Chowdhury) rummage through piles of rubbish removed from the flooded landscape by a mysterious Waterman (George Kirby-Smith). The girl talks of being taken West, to drier lands, by her aunt. The boy is sceptical.
Back in 2023, a priest named Bathesda (again played by Chowdhury) is visited by a troubled Clare (once again, played by Thompson), and is invited to stay. Each has a story of grief to share, and each is attempting to face the future by confronting the past. Meanwhile Harry (also played by Kirby-Smith) remains obsessed with the past, and the museum of local history that he had assembled.
The sparse set (that palleted flooring is a Health and Safety nightmare, especially when trying to position that wooden chair) combines with simple projected backdrops and sensitive lighting to allow the three actors to carry us on their emotional voyaging, both through time and via personal catharsis. The dialogue is quip-filled, but remains poignant and sincere as each main character confronts their losses and strives to find faith amidst their loneliness. It is much, much more than a piece of agitprop designed to galvanise us into action over Global Warming.
Which is probably just as well for anyone about to take out a 25 year mortgage on a property in Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk or Suffolk.
