So, ‘The Bogus Woman’ is our company’s play of choice, but in order to not come across as ignorant to the topic we are portraying, researching around the topic and the real life institutes mentioned in the play are key. Firstly, Campsfield Detention Centre or ‘Campsfield House’ (ironic as it is in fact nothing like a house) is a real life detention centre based in Oxford. It is described as  “An Immigration Detention Centre at Kidlington, six miles from Oxford. It is a prison run for private profit by Group 4, supervised by Home Office immigration officials. It used to be a youth detention centre, but it re-opened as an Immigration Detention Centre in November 1993. The local parish council was opposed to it, but their wishes were overruled by the Home Office.” (closecampsfield.org, 2002) There are 200 detainees held at Campsfield house, most of whom are political refugees, like the character of the Young Woman, who are fleeing their country from harm, torture and death. Most do not know how long they will be held there for, are not given proper legal representation and are not given valid reasons for being held there. ‘Campsfield House’ is surrounded by a 20 foot high razor wire topped fence, mentioned by the Young Woman in the play, “A tangled tower of twenty foot high razor wire secretly coils all the way from oxford.” (Adshead, 2001) The word ‘secretly’ in the line from the play even suggests that the true identity of the detention centre is not clearly apparent to most. Detainees are made to live in shared cell bedrooms with family and friends being searched and made to pass through five security controlled door before being allowed to visit. ‘Campsfield House’ is still actively running, with many campaigners and detainees protesting in order to get it shut down.

 

From looking into ‘Campsfield House’, its origins and how it is run, I came across the charity organisation ‘Amnesty International’ whose manifesto and aim is “to investigate and expose abuses, educate and mobilise the public, and help transform societies to create a safer, more just world” (Amnesty International, 2014) Amnesty International reported that ‘Campsfield House’ breached internationally recognised human rights. This charity endeavors to help people who cannot help themselves and give everyone equal opportunities to be free and be treated how they deserve to be. We have invited representatives from Amnesty International to come and watch our production and are eager to hear feedback from them about the production and their views and thoughts. Also, a collection box will be placed at the door at the end of the show for audience members wishing to make a donation to the charity who are fantastically run in order to help people like the Young Woman in ‘The Bogus Woman’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited:

Adshead, Kay, 2001, The Bogus Woman, Marston Books Services (p.23)

Amnesty International, 2014, [Online] Available here: http://www.amnesty.org.uk/issues/About-Amnesty

Closecampsfield.org, 2002 [online] Available at:  http://www.closecampsfield.org.uk/background/why.html