Small Boat

By VINCENT DELECROIX
Translated by HELEN STEVENSON
Edited for the stage by JACK MCNAMARA
Directed by AMY GOLDING
Read live on stage by AIMÉE KELLY & JOANA GERONIMO

In November 2021, a dinghy carrying migrants capsized in the Channel causing the death of 27 people.

Small Boat is a fictional imagining of that event told by the coast guard who failed to do enough to help them.

Through this searing and unflinching monologue she examines her own conscience and the conscience of a nation.

Despite receiving numerous calls for help, the French authorities wrongly told the migrants they were in British waters and had to call the British authorities for help. By the time rescue vessels arrived on the scene, all but two of the migrants had died.

The narrator of Delecroix’s fictional account of the events is the woman who took the calls. Accused of failing in her duty, she refuses to be held more responsible than others for this disaster. Why should she be more responsible than the sea, than the war, than the crises behind these tragedies?

A shocking, moral tale of our times, Small Boat reminds us of the power of fiction to illuminate our darkest crimes.

WINNER of ENGLISH PEN AWARD.
Shortlisted for THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2025.

FREE Post Show Talk
Stay after the performance for a FREE Post Show Talk to discuss themes from the piece with Shams Moussa from Walking With - a charity in North Tyneside supporting asylum seekers and refugees.

Samsoudini Moussa, also known as Shams, is a community champion, campaigner, and advocate. With a lived experience of sanctuary seeking background, Shams has a wide range of volunteering experiences with local and nationwide institutions with Advisory, Ambassador, Director or Trustee role. He completed a Foundation Courses of Computer Sciences Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis, and Computer Sciences Cybersecurity at Teesside University. He is currently working at Walking With in North Tyneside as a Sanctuary Support Worker.

‘The key to immortality is to live a life worth helping others less fortunate’.

Cast

Aimée Kelly

Aimée Kelly played series regular Jamie Constantinou in 'Hijack' for Apple TV+. Aimée can be most recently seen as Judith Morden in ITV series 'I Fought the Law'. Recent credits also include one woman show 'Boy Parts' at Soho Theatre, Platform 7 (ITVX) and 'This England' (Sky). Aimée's film credits include Emily in Armando Iannucci's 'The Personal History of David Copperfield' and Irene Pathé's 'The Duke'.

Other credits include 'Grantchester' (Kudos), DC Griffiths in the 25th Anniversary Series of 'Silent Witness' (BBC), CBBC's 'Wolfblood' for which she was nominated for Best Performer at the Children's BAFTA's and 'Sket' which earned her a nomination for Best Newcomer at the BFI London Film Festival.