Despite the pains the programme goes to in explaining how much research went into Bodies in Transit, in the end there's only so much one can say about the sex trafficking of women from Eastern Europe to the west, and this play doesn't exactly cover new ground. At the same time, Bassett's script is well-crafted and avoids sensationalism.
The staging uses various physical theatre techniques to portray Lola (Iben Hendel Philipsen) and her emotional struggle/journey. This is an interesting decision on Philipsen and director Lars Henning's parts, as at times the transition is so jarring that it forces the viewer to disassociate from events. Trying to overlook this proves difficult as Philipsen ricochets through her 'nineteen characters,' since without her changing her voice or much about her physicality, the only hints that one character has gone and another arrived are the jolts as she flings herself from one side of a conversation to the other, or in the extremely stylized hand gestures she uses to signify each character. It's clear, but distracting.
At the end, one is left with a strange feeling - not precisely empty, not precisely full, and not really sure what to make of Lola's sad tale. The play seems to suggest a problem without offering the audience any idea of how it can be solved - like Lola, we are left feeling like trapped witnesses to an atrocious set of circumstances, without any clear way of getting out.
(Originally awarded 3½ stars.)