If your country was eating itself from the inside out, if your family were risking life and limb for a failing dream, if somebody offered you a way out, what would you do? This is the fated situation thousands of South and Central American women every year face and the story Juana in a Million tries to tell.
The story follows the path of Juana, a Mexican woman who dreams of a better life in London. Her mother warns her things will not go well for her on the other side of the world but Juana pays no heed. From the moment she lands, things start to look bad for her.
The flat her friend arranged for her is a ‘hotbed’. Sharing a room with seven other people, she must sleep according to when a mattress is free. Juana is taken on – sans work permit – at a Mexican restaurant where she must endure veiled sexual threats from the chef. As things go from bad to worse, Juana begins to realise exactly what she’s gotten herself into.
Performed using a mixture of physical theatre and music, Vicky Araico Casas’s use of movement throughout brings the performance to life. The routine jobs of the restaurant become an intricate dance woven between real life and dreams.
Music for the performance was provided live by Adam Pleeth. The soundtrack provided a Latin tint to the uncompassionate London life portrayed by Araico Casas.
Juana in a Million paints a lonely and desperate picture of life for many Latin American women trying to survive in the UK. While not easy viewing, it certainly is worth it.
Recommended 14+
Show Times: Till 26 Aug 2012 (Not 8, 15 or 22), 4:15pm
Ticket Prices: £9 (£7 conc)