Mary’s Joy postponed
Jeanmarie Simpson’s touring production has been postponed
Jeanmarie Simpson’s touring production of Mary’s Joy has been postponed.
The American actress and playwright arrived at Heathrow Airport on Friday 13 February from Montreal to begin the British leg of her one-woman show but was refused entry because she did not have the appropriate documentation.
Mary’s Joy examines the life of the Quaker Mary Dyer, who was the first colonial woman executed in the New World in 1660, and the play was to be performed at venues, including many Quaker Meeting houses, in Britain and Europe (13 February).
The tour, which is organised by the Birmingham-based Quaker arts company the Leaveners, is on hold until visa irregularities have been ironed out. These came to light only when Jeanmarie arrived at Heathrow.
According to Leaveners director Adam Clarke, paperwork that could only be filed in the United States had not been submitted to the authorities there. It was not possible for Jeanmarie to complete the paperwork in the UK.
The Quaker actress was held by immigration staff for five hours at Heathrow. Despite her visa stating that Jeanmarie was ‘care of’ Leaveners and company trustee John Sheldon, immigration officials did not contact the organisation.
A Brighton Friend who had arrived at Heathrow to collect Jeanmarie spent the day there, liaising with Adam Clarke and Paul Parker, recording clerk of Britain Yearly Meeting.
Immigration officials allowed Jeanmarie to spend one night in the UK. She returned to Canada the following day on the first Montreal-bound flight.
Adam told the Friend: ‘This is very disappointing and disheartening. It happened so unexpectedly, and we were shocked that we couldn’t do anything about it at the airport. The main thing now is to remain optimistic and to keep Friends in the loop.’
Leaveners staff are in the process of contacting the Meetings involved, he said, offering them the option of cancellation or taking up an alternative date.
Comments
I understood that The Leaveners need a license to sponsor Jeanmarie and her tour. It wasn’t she alone that didn’t have the proper paperwork.
By SusanMary on 19th February 2015 - 22:45
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