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How Not To Drown

Full-Length Play, Drama

Nicola McCartney, Dritan Kastrati

Hilarious, painful and uplifting, How Not to Drown shares a story of endurance for a little kid who wasn’t safe or welcome anywhere in the world.

    Accolades
    Accolades
    • Winner! 2019 Fringe First Award 

    Details

    Summary

    I don’t know why my Dad let me go... I was too young, too weak, to make this journey. I wouldn’t have sent me… He wouldn’t have sent me unless there was a reason.

    In 2002, in the turmoil after the end of the Kosovan War, Dritan is sent on the notoriously perilous journey across the Adriatic with a gang of people smugglers to a new life in Europe. He relies on his young wit and charm to make it to the UK. But the fight for survival continues as he clings to his identity and sense of self when he ends up in the British care system.

    Hilarious, painful and uplifting, How Not to Drown shares a story of endurance for a little kid who wasn’t safe or welcome anywhere in the world.

    Award-winning theatre company ThickSkin (Chalk FarmThe Static) returns to the stage with an action packed, highly visual production.

    History
    How Not To Drown was first performed on 4 August 2019 at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.

      Media

      “It takes us through the journey itself, and then, perhaps most tragically, through Dritan’s sometimes shocking experience at the hands of the British “care” system.” – The Scotsman 

      "...a survival story that speaks to what it is like to be caught between two cultures." – The Guardian

      “Dritan Kastrati is centre stage… in the telling of his own journey from war-torn Kosovo to seek asylum in Britain when he was just 11 years old.” – The Times   

      “...shocking in its straightforward account both of the dangers of the journey and the consequences of landing in the UK as an unaccompanied minor and finding yourself submerged in the care system.” – The Times 

      “...its power springs from its absolute authenticity.” – WhatsOnStage


      Licensing & Materials



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      Scripts

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      Authors

      Author

      Nicola McCartney

      Author

      Dritan Kastrati

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