REVIEW: Peregrinations, Dutch Kills Theater, EdFringe 2026 ★★★

Peregrinations is made of paper. Paper(s) that are blank so they may serve different functions – allow a migrant to cross borders, transcend into a bird, construct a larval mask. Paper(s) are essential to the migrant experience, so for the company to metamorphose this simple element into the DNA of the play is a smart and compelling choice that pulses through the strongest moments of Dutch Kills Theater’s wordless hour on America’s immigrant crisis. 

Meaning ‘winding journey’ and alluding to ‘foreigner, stranger’, Peregrinations is a kaleidoscopic overview of the cruelty of bureaucracy and the brutality of transit. The piece moves between memories, metaphors and varying methods of migration, but it always returns to offices and confinements. Blake Habermann directs some beautiful images in this work, and his seven-strong cast perform the material with conviction. When the piece is clear, it is emotive in an overwhelming way, almost instinctively, washing over you with its lyrical movement. 

Like the title might suggest, the movements in this piece are rarely jagged or angular; the performers flow gently, which makes the cruelty more apparent. Not a shock to the system – the piece is very rarely confrontational. Instead, we experience gentle waves of paper, of bartering, even of brutality. A woman negotiates a price to cross the border in a van. A man negotiates which papers he needs to migrate. A woman is torn away from her child. A man drowns in a boat crossing. In the office, larval figures document, categorise and in surreal moments tear begging figures apart, all paper – even the documents they need to sign. 

Larval masks are interesting things – they trick you more than a neutral mask. An actor might tilt their head in one direction and suddenly a happy woman is devestated. The company use their masks beautifully. They are handsomely designed and construct some really compelling moments. This being said, whilst the flowing nature of the piece would make neutralising the head trickier, seeing performers hair made it more laborious for them to construct their masks. Often seeing the back of someone’s head made them lose a character for a split-second, which complicated the piece’s flowing movement.

Furthermore, whilst some scenes were genuinely moving, a tonally strange sequence in which an immigrant parodies videogames as a metaphor for the loopholes of transit seemed a little lost in translation in a work of such earnestness. This is a symptom of a Peregrinations‘ kaleidoscopic nature. The work was so broad, which to some might be precisely what makes it universal, but to me it felt like it restricted the work to making a general impression. The characters man / woman / child / officer never felt like they were breathing. The piece breathed for them instead, and this can function, but I felt like I wanted to understand the testimonies from which the company drew more. 

Still, this is handsome dance-theatre. The company move beautifully, the images flow gently and Peregrinations is a good morning slot of physical theatre with urgent themes and compelling execution. 

Recommended Drink: It’s an 11.25 show, so no pints just yet. Let’s be real if you’re anything like me you’re probably hungover. Get yourself some caffeine and eat some vitamins; your body needs them.

You can catch Peregrinations at Central at Assembly Roxy from 6-30 (not 17, 25) at 11.25 (60 mins). Tickets available from the EdFringe Online Box Office.