Flight is an adaptation of Caroline Brothers’ novel Hinterland by the Scottish theatre company Vox Motus.
It tells the story of two orphaned Afghan brothers – Aryan and Kabir – making their way on foot to the UK. It’s a harrowing tale – following the brothers’ exhausting efforts to seek asylum, causing them to risk their lives on numerous occasions, be it travelling across the Ervos on an inflatable boat, or in the back of a refrigerated meat truck. Along the way they face horrific adversity, as they’re subjected to sexual assault, police cruelty and forced labour.
The show takes the unlikely form of a theatrical graphic novel. Each audience member sits in an isolated booth wearing headphones, with their own window looking onto a moving carousel. In front of us, miniature models portraying scenes from Aryan and Kabul’s story are illuminated as they pass on by – like a kind of slow-motion 3D magic lantern show. It’s a full-on audiovisual sensory experience – visually and sonically, extremely rich in detail.
Flight verges on being sentimental at times – and it sometimes feels like not enough context is given to make Aryan and Kabir feel fully relatable. But it’s a harrowing and vital story – visceral, hard to watch, but told with lyrical beauty and charm.