Borders NYC Reviews and Tickets

“A dull polemic where a complex moral drama ought to be...The Syrian graffiti artist emerges as a fully human character with a compellingly unique story. Regrettably, Naylor never appears satisfied with that...The fact that her story is frequently interrupted by a tepid send-up of the Western media is even more frustrating, dividing our attention and diluting the power of the play...Actors compensate for the lack of fire in the script.”
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"Avital Lvova is singular in her ability to take the beautiful poetry of Naylor’s text and deliver it effortlessly...Lvova is athletic, gripping, and her performance is doubtlessly the highlight of the play...'Borders' is co-directed ingeniously by Michael Cabot and Louise Skaaning, who make great use of the barebones set to transport us from bus to basement to prison to art gallery to boat...We are ushered through Naylor’s text thanks to elegant transitions and brilliant performances."
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“A small, spare, sometimes poignant but not especially enlightening play that alternates monologues by two characters, a British photographer and a young Syrian woman...There is a deliberate discord between the largely comic tone of Sebastian’s anecdotes and the largely tragic tone in what Nameless says...At its best, the two performers...tell some vivid anecdotes...At its worst, the two characters too often speak in a pseudo-poetic diction.”
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"Written in breathless, staccato, pulp fiction-style sentences filled with vividly carved verbal images…For all the play's hearts-in-the-right-place depiction of Syrian suffering, it fails to go much beyond the depiction of the struggle of two artists to remain true to their convictions, with the Middle East crisis a conveniently dramatic background to their respective dilemmas…Which is not to deny its onstage dramatic power…'Borders' is knife sharp, bullet fast, and edgily funny."
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“Directed with lean briskness...We rarely see the moral courage we are encouraged to think lies within Simon that has become extinguished. The same quality in the nameless young woman is never in doubt...It is her character...that is the most resonant. Through her, rather than the comical Simon, Naylor’s message is simple, emphatic, and angry: These are people. These are people we have a responsibility to help. Yet do we recognize that? Do we do anything about it?"
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"Deftly interweaving these two monologues, Naylor asks pertinent questions about the power of art, the responsibility of the artist, and the integrity of a society that only cares about refugees when Angelina Jolie tells it to...Their slowly converging stories are both compelling and convincingly rooted in gritty geopolitics...At times, one wishes he would take more formal risks...This is a form that has limits. And 'Borders' – excellent though it is – doesn’t push them very far."
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"As the story moves to the present day, Sebastian has returned to 'real' photography, joining a Mediterranean mission where he wants the shot that will renew his fame...Nameless, by now a pregnant refugee, is fleeing for her life in an unseaworthy boat. Their two stories collide — but who is rescuing whom, from what?...Naylor interlaces the serious — and sometimes shocking — details of their histories with wry asides...Michael Cabot directs a gripping hour that races by."
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"A two-hander, featuring a pair of characters in motion towards one another on both sides of the Mediterranean. Both are artists in their own way...Naylor's dialogue is crisp and evocative, and the non-existent set is so far stripped back that all the tools Cabot has to work with are his very talented actors, leading to a result which is pure and captivating. Even if moments occasionally swing close to cliché, Naylor’s name remains a mark of quality for those who like to see good political drama."
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"This play is divided into two perspectives...Conflict allows the playwright to editorialise, so to speak, on the state of modern media, on the loss of true news coverage and journalistic integrity to the endless, slavish reportage of celebrity gossip. It is another great cultural casualty of our times and Naylor nails it...The audience is wondering if and how these worlds may intersect. Well, intersect they do and it is a magnificent and spectacular climax."
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"Their stories may be different, but Naylor connects the two different lives together through historical and cultural references that an audience may surely find relatable...Cabot’s staging and direction is simple yet effective, intensified by the use of just two stools as props...Yet another masterpiece from Naylor, exploring a difficult subject with remarkable poignancy. This is true stripped back theatre; one where performances, script and direction are justly able to shine."
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"The parallel monologues of the two characters paint out their lives...Lvova invests her character with burning intensity; if there are more powerful performances on the Fringe this year, they must be few in number. As the paths of these contrasting characters begin to converge with a doomed inevitability, the play racks up the tension in the audience, building up to a powerful denouement stunning in its impact."
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"A beautifully articulated piece of theatre that moves heart and mind as it tells the story of a Syrian refugee from converging perspectives...A powerful narrative that is all the stronger for avoiding sentimentalism...Nameless’ tale has a clear narrative thread, ringing true and yet carrying a sense of multiple stories. Naylor’s language is elegant, spare, almost poetic...The bringing together of the two characters’ stories, like images becoming superimposed, seems natural, even inevitable."
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"Naylor's writing sees his characters weave in and around terror, love and rebellion. His ability to write such wholesome and human characters – as well as capturing the comedy and irony in our most real experiences – is so refreshing...'Borders' is sobering and powerful in the way it brings together human experience in these two tragic and gripping stories, pointing out that we have put up walls inside our minds and hearts, preventing us from empathising with others."
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"As the two characters’ lives move away from and back towards each other, the script shifts effortlessly between poetry, humour and nail-biting action. It’s superbly carried by Lvova and O’Mara, who deliver their roller-coaster monologues with an explosive energy that is utterly gripping...Pure, raw theatre that smashes through our mental borders and beckons us into a new world of understanding. Naylor has nailed it again."
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"We are witnessing two stories, each nothing to do with the other and yet surely knowing that at some point there would be contact. No spoilers here but the build up to the climax is a joy to behold with two actors showing us how it’s done. Sebastian is a clever character study...As for Nameless, her growing resolve, determination and courage grapples the audience and turns our attention away from Sebastian’s gloss to what we see and read when we peruse 'the immigrant problem.'"
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