The Container is a play written in 2007 by Clare Bayle, first performed at the Edinburgh Film Festival.
Five refugees with hopes of finding a better life in England find themselves cramped in a tiny shipping container, overheating and with very little food and water.
The play itself is performed in a shipping container of an audience of less than 30. The only lighting comes from flashlights held by the cast members.
This play includes examples of:
- Ambiguous Ending: The play ends with the truck stopping, but its unsure if the passengers have made it to their final destination, or if they have been caught trying to enter England.
- Bottle Episode: The entire play takes place in a single, 6 meter shipping container.
- Cash Gate: The driver stops the truck, requesting $50 from each passenger before he finishes the journey. Anyone who doesn't pay has to get out of the container.
- The Confidant: Miriam is this to Asha. Once everyone else falls asleep, she tells her about why she left Syria, her sister's death, and the letter she has requesting a job as The Queens servant.
- The Ghost: The driver is never seen, but controls the fates of the characters.
- Uncertain Doom: After Miriam is unable to pay the extra $50 to stay on the truck, she is taken out of the container by the agent to attempt to trade her gun, or otherwise plead for her staying. We hear some loud crashing and screams, but nothing else to solidify her fate.
- War Refugees: The five main characters of the play are all refugees of different countries, with Ahmad and Mariam specifically fleeing the war in Afghanistan
