Writer and Director: Sebastian Senior
For the latest gift from this year’s Peckham Fringe, Sebastian Senior writes, directs and stars in Repatriated at the Canada Water Theatre. Senior’s production is a resounding success.
Repatriated starts with Bob Dylan’s Only a Pawn in Their Game before turning to UK electronic and garage music, Mass Destruction by Faithless being one of several tracks played as the audience takes their seats.
Repatriated explores the concept of statelessness. Simon, after attending a protest against the government, finds himself arrested and in a cell without a solicitor, stripped of his citizenship and his rights. Given an ultimatum, he must choose between his friends and his freedom. Senior takes the audience through the interweaving plot while talking almost exclusively in free verse. This poetic thriller touches on everything from Tommy Robinson to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement squads.
Near the start of the production, Simon is angered that the far-right hasn’t put up an England flag by his apartment, presumably because he is black. The fact that he was born, raised and lived in England his entire life doesn’t seem to matter. Senior’s character finds himself cast out of Britain by unforgiving civil servants, racist friends and unsympathetic police. This dystopian play strays in and out of reality, somewhere between 1984 and Camus’ L’Étranger. Think V for Vendetta, without Nathalie Portman or any sword fighting. The fact that Senior manages to pull this play off as an epic poem is astounding, and his innovation should be championed.
It possibly goes on slightly too long, but this is a minor criticism. Senior, as Simon, is excellent generally. Although he might stutter occasionally, it makes the character more endearing as he leads the audience through the weaving, poetic plot. Similarly, after a moment of confusion at the break, Senior calls out to the audience from the wings, telling them that it’s the intermission, gaining a robust round of applause for his trouble.
There are many plays in London currently that are looking to discuss nationality, identity and the rise of the far-right, Foal, Poppies, and What Fatima Did being recent examples. However, none dive into the topic more directly and poetically than Repatriated. With Shamima Begum currently still in a detention camp in Syria, stripped of her British citizenship, and Nigel Farage’s anti-immigration rhetoric rapidly gaining support throughout the country, this play feels especially pertinent.
Reviewed on 14 June 2026
Peckham Fringe runs until 5 June 2026
