New production e x i l e promises to be an arresting exploration of women cast off from their communities, and forced to survive in a wasteland physically and emotionally. The play follows the interactions of six female characters desperately searching for water, and through their desperation they are forced to unearth their stories of persecution. As they piece their separate lives together, they begin to see the connection between their stories, building a kind of sisterhood relationship to offer a message of hope. Written and co-directed by Rute Costa with Faye Guy, it feels like a production with huge potential to illustrate a new feminist angle on the history of exile.

‘What is the play about?’

“Oh… shit…” A smile breaks across Rute’s face as she looks to the other cast members. This sparks a chorus of unsure laughter.

She explains that inspiration came partly from doing the Tragedy Paper in her final year. “The idea came when I was reading Greek plays, Medea being the best example of this…she, of course, gets exiled. We have done a lot of research to explore other incidents of female exile throughout other cultures around the world.”

For example, one of the play’s characters is based on the experiences of a Nepalese girl exiled from her community during her period. This is a cultural practice which is outlawed but still goes on in rural parts of Nepal.

But the cast seem wary to pin the play to a specific cultural context; the desert setting is a space where Greek Medea (Niamh Curran), Nepalese Samasti (Claire Takami-Siljedahl) and others come to explore what their exile means, and is one reason why Rute and Faye have focused on creating an atemporal space.

Rute: “The floor of Corpus will be covered in sand, with buckets and props merging into the set.” This desert set will emphasise this limbo space, and for the actors this medium will provide an interesting challenge.

What does performing in the Corpus Playroom bring to e x i l e?

Niamh Curran: “This would be impossible to do in any other place (in Cambridge) but Corpus. Its quite claustrophobic in a useful way and the audience will feel trapped and exiled like the characters themselves.”

Faye: We are going to have white paper on the wall which actors will draw on during the performances – the entire set is interactive.

There is also original music being composed (‘eerie synths and nostalgic piano tracks with electronic sounds’) for the show. Everything, from the play itself to the costumes, will be entirely original.

What have you been up to in the rehearsal period?

Beatriz Santos: Rute’s writing and having her there really allowed us to get to the heart of the play and rewrite and change if something wasn't working.

Rute: Because it is a student-written play, we have building the characters together in a collaborative process [sic].

The cast and production have been able to modify the script to fit the performance, an exciting departure from having to adhere to the minutiae of a bought script.

What have the challenges been in the rehearsals?

Lola Olufemi: “We have done a lot of work so they [the characters] don’t become caricatures. It is easy to take your character and base it on someone and when you put them all against each other it could become too simplistic. What we have been trying to do is to make sure you express an individual voice without making them political for no reason.”

Faye: We realised through this process that there is a distinct lack of access and opportunity for BME actors that people in Cambridge and at the ADC are working really hard on to address. We hope that having a diverse cast will encourage BME actors to audition for more plays and for directors to be more actively aware and inclusive.

This is a student-written play. What is the Cambridge creative writing scene like at the moment?

Rute: To be honest, I have not seen enough to make an informed judgement. But I’ve heard great things.

Lola: Now more than ever there is space for student writing. it means you can put on plays that you care about and explore issues that you normally don't see on stage . Directors are often restricted by ‘what's popular’ or familiar to Cambridge’s audiences.

Rute and the cast seem attentive to not casting their characters solely as victims, but rather as strong in the face of adversity. Ruby Kwong aptly quoted Judith Butler: “happily, we are all dispossessed together,” which just about sums up the tone of this feminist creative experiment.

e x i l e is being performed from Tue 1st November 2016 – Sat 5th November 2016 at Corpus Playroom. Tickets are £6 for students and are on sale now.