'We talk about boats, not people': Toby Jones on UK's treatment of refugees
The Guardian|June 10, 2024
The Bafta-winning actor Toby Jones has highlighted the dehumanisation of refugees arriving in the UK in boats, and called the Rwanda deportation scheme the latest "in a long line of challenges" that asylum seekers have to face "just to survive".
Nadia Khomami
'We talk about boats, not people': Toby Jones on UK's treatment of refugees

Jones, known for his character actor roles on stage and screen, is taking part in a 24-hour "Shakespeare marathon" to fundraise for Compass Collective, a charity that supports the integration of young refugees in the UK through the arts.

The actor, who has been a trustee of the charity since 2020, will join more than 80 people - including Robert Glenister, Sylvestra Le Touzel and Owen Teale, as well as young refugee actors for the production, which will take place at Scrum Studios in Hammersmith, west London, on 21 June.

"You'd have to be inhuman to not respond to children who find themselves as refugees because, through no fault of their own, they're exposed to forces beyond their comprehension - forces which are potentially extremely dangerous and life-threatening," Jones said in an interview with the Guardian.

"I went to the Calais Jungle with Good Chance theatre and Letters Live a few years ago and performed there. Being shown around the camp had a profound impact on me.

"Just the vulnerability of the young people, and their yearning for a better life. No one crosses the world and puts themselves in such extreme danger without having a very good cause."

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