Untold

THE SCAR TEST

A snapshot of life inside the infamous Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre

By acclaimed writer Hannah Khalil

On Tour 21 June – 22 July 2017

Untold Arts presents The Scar Test, a new play by Soho Theatre Westminster Prize award-winning writer Hannah Khalil, which opens on 21 June during Refugee Week 2017 and offers a powerful and disturbing snapshot of life inside the infamous Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre. Based on verbatim interviews and extensive research, The Scar Test depicts the controversial and unsettling conditions faced by the women detained there, highlighting the urgent, widely unknown reality of immigration control in Britain.

Taking its title from a procedure used to determine whether detainees have undergone torture in their home countries (despite the fact not all forms of torture leave external scars), The Scar Test uses physical theatre, humour and multiple languages to provide a compelling snapshot of daily life at the Centre.

The Scar Test opens at The Place, Bedford on 21 June 2017, which is situated just seven miles from Yarl’s Wood IRC, before transferring to Soho Theatre, London between 5 and 22 July 2017. Directed by Sara Joyce, the cast of The Scar Test includes Janet Etuk, Nadia Nadif, Shazia Nicholls, Rebecca Omogbehin and Lucy Sheen.

Hannah Khalil’s previous work includes Scenes from 68* Years (Arcola), The Deportation Room and Last of the Pearl Fishers (both BBC Radio 4) and the Meyer-Whitworth Award nominated Plan D (Tristan Bates).

Directed by Sara Joyce who was assistant director on Nice Fish by Mark Rylance & Louis Jenkins and previously Resident Director at Almeida Theatre and Associate Director on King Charles III by Mike Bartlett (UK Tour and Sydney Theatre Company).

Cast:

Janet Etuk

Nadia Nadif

Shazia Nicholls

Rebecca Omogbehin

Lucy Sheen

Voice Overs – Aaron Heffernan, Zed Josef, Laurence Mitchell

Director – Sara Joyce

Designer – Amelia Jane Hankin

Lighting – Zoe Spurr

Sound – Jo Walker

Lighting Assistant – Hector Murray