17 Border Crossings

By the 1990s, Thaddeus McWhinnie Phillips' house could almost be called a suitcase. He travelled constantly, crossing countries and experiencing new things. The actor and founder of the theatre collective Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental has made travel a core aspect of his theatre work. His dedication to his craft is noteworthy. For instance, he travelled to Morocco to learn Arabic for his project, The Earth's Sharp Edge, and to the Amazon region to study underground constructions near Aztec ruins for The Melting Bridge.

His international background has provided him with a wealth of experience, equipping him with a detailed understanding of global issues and their underlying complexities. Borders are a particularly controversial topic, especially those that have been altered and redrawn numerous times throughout history. Or those that have become a crossing point for thousands of people seeking a better life, who cross them in the uncertainty of whether they will be stopped or perish in the attempt.

As he considered the next montage, Phillips began collating his travel stories and found that most of them were centred around a border crossing. I then had the idea of 17 Border Crossings. Following an extensive process of material refinement and story specification, he commenced this new venture, now on stage, with a blend of realism and imagination. It encompasses countries including Egypt, Bosnia, Cuba, Brazil, Morocco, Colombia, Austria, Bali, the Czech Republic, Israel, Jordan, Serbia, Croatia, Italy and Mexico.

Seated alone on stage, Thaddeus McWhinnie Phillips begins his monologue by narrating the history of the passport since 1414. This historical overview is presented as a means of contextualising the transcendence of the dividing lines that men have drawn. The monologue then proceeds to evoke a series of scenarios, including moving trains, isolated border posts, the interior of an aeroplane and interview rooms.

Subsequently, the author introduces the human subject with a comic and visually surrealistic charge. At a train crossing, the protagonist encounters a stranger throwing large packages from his compartment window. In another scene, the protagonist engages in conversation with a migrant heading into the desert towards the United States. Later in the narrative, the author alludes to individuals who, like a gardener from Mozambique, travel hidden in the train on planes where the temperature reaches 50 degrees below zero. Additionally, the author recalls his own experiences with deportation from Bali, which occurred due to the border guards' inability to recognize his passport. As in everyday life, in 17 Border Crossings one can be amused, terrified, amazed or saddened.