PEREGRINATIONS ⭐⭐⭐

“Created from interviews and the lived experiences of an international ensemble, the piece uses masks, puppetry and poetic movement to illuminate border crossings, exile, the search for belonging and the barriers imposed by others. As hostility toward immigrants intensifies, this visually arresting performance moves beyond headlines to reveal deeply human stories of courage, loss and resilience. Urgent and intimate, it asks audiences to reflect on migration, memory and compassion in a nation shaped by arrivals.”

There is something immediately intriguing about PEREGRINATIONS. A piece built almost entirely without spoken language is a brave theatrical choice. When it works, the smallest movement, gesture or glance can communicate more than a page of dialogue ever could. But it also comes with a significant catch: the audience needs to understand what they are watching. And this is where PEREGRINATIONS becomes a rather mixed journey. The production has a beautiful theatrical language, some extraordinary live music and performers who commit fully to its physical world. But too often, the stories being told become difficult to decipher — and when there are no words to help us find our way, that clarity becomes rather important.

The direction is, unfortunately, a mixed bag. With a production that relies so heavily on movement, masks and visual storytelling rather than dialogue, the direction needs to be incredibly precise. Every gesture has to mean something. Every transition needs to take us somewhere. Every image needs to communicate. At times, this works beautifully.

At others, I found myself watching a scene and thinking, I know something is happening here… I wish I knew what. At times, the visual storytelling becomes unclear, and without dialogue to provide context, the audience has very little else to hold onto. The intention behind some sequences is apparent, but the precise story being told isn’t always as clear as it needs to be. The production has a strong theatrical vocabulary. It just doesn’t always speak clearly enough.

The lighting is one of the production’s stronger elements. I particularly enjoyed the shifts in state throughout the piece. The lighting is dynamic without becoming showy, and it changes the atmosphere with lovely subtlety. It understands that this production doesn’t need a lighting design constantly shouting LOOK AT THIS IMPORTANT MOMENT! Instead, it gently shapes the world around the performers. That restraint is appreciated.

The sound design is lovely. The fact that so much of it is performed live is one of the real highlights of the production. There is something wonderfully immediate about hearing the sound being created in front of you as the action unfolds. It gives the piece an organic quality and creates a fascinating relationship between the performers, musicians and physical storytelling. It also gives the production a real edge. When the live sound, movement and lighting all come together, PEREGRINATIONS becomes genuinely atmospheric. This is a department where the production gets the balance very nicely right.

The biggest challenge for PEREGRINATIONS is also what makes it interesting. There are no words. That can be incredibly powerful. But it means the visual storytelling has to be exceptionally clear. Some stories come across beautifully. You can understand the emotion, the conflict and the human experience at their centre without anyone needing to explain it. Unfortunately, others are much harder to follow. The use of the white masks is particularly intriguing, but I found myself wanting a little more context around what they represented and how we were supposed to understand them within the wider piece. There are also several scenes where the production needed to communicate the narrative more clearly. And this isn’t an argument for adding dialogue simply because dialogue is easier—quite the opposite. If a production chooses to tell its story without words, I think it should absolutely commit to that choice. But it also needs to make sure the audience can follow the story it is telling. Otherwise, the audience ends up doing considerably more decoding than reflecting.

The performances are committed and, in places, genuinely moving. There is a clear physical discipline across the ensemble, and the performers throw themselves into the masks, puppetry and movement with real commitment. The emotional moments are particularly effective when the performers strip everything back. Without words, a small physical reaction can become incredibly powerful, and there are several moments where that happens. However, the performances can only communicate what the direction and storytelling have given them. When the intention behind a scene isn’t sufficiently clear, even strong physical performances can struggle to make the meaning land. There is undoubtedly talent within this ensemble, and when everything aligns, they create some beautiful theatrical images.

PEREGRINATIONS is an ambitious and visually interesting piece that wants to tell deeply human stories about migration, exile, belonging and resilience without relying on spoken language. There are moments when it is genuinely beautiful. The live sound is extraordinary, the lighting is subtle and effective, and the performers bring real commitment and emotional weight to the material. A fascinating production lies beneath the uncertainty, and with sharper direction and clearer storytelling, PEREGRINATIONS could become a considerably more affecting piece. But for now, the journey is worth taking.

PEREGRINATIONS plays at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe throughout August. For the latest performance times and availability, and to book tickets, visit the official Fringe listing below.

🎟️ Book tickets for PEREGRINATIONS