Camden Fringe 2025: Net Café Refugee at Camden People’s Theatre
Simply powerful and gracefully covering a multitude of topics, Net Café Refugee is a disarming autopsy of an eerie phenomenon in Japan, where homeless individuals seek refuge and live in 24/7 internet cafés. It has become prominent enough that these facilities have started serving food and installing showers. The piece, performed at the Camden People’s Theatre, is written by Yuya Sato and stars himself, Nobuo Otsuka, Mia Sumida and Jack Bolton. It explores loneliness, depression and human desperation. It also puts at the forefront questions surrounding incel culture, the duality within people, the extremes of idolising celebrities and the Western saviour complex.
The main protagonist is Keita, whose narration is the centrepiece of the play. In love with Noa, another refugee whose cubicle sits right next to his, Keita marvels in the small interactions he has with her. Through the script, viewers will get to know his affection for Noa and his frustration with their fellow refugee, Nobu, a self-proclaimed “freelancer”. The lives of these three become tangled when the wannabe influencer, Mr Tea, arrives, camera-ready, hoping to capture the hidden realities of life in Tokyo.
What’s so compelling about the script is how, in a short space of time, Sato touches on multiple talking points with great nuance. While the characters themselves aren’t fully fleshed out with details and arcs, they don’t have to be. The aim of the performance isn’t to endear the audience to the people in front of them. Rather, it underlines, through this collection of individuals, the human greed and disconnection that led to the commonality of net café refugees. Every interaction the characters have with each other is a form of social commentary: from Keita and his obsession with Noa, Mr Tea and his faux kindness, to Nobu’s apathy towards the people surrounding him. All these little intricacies that occur during the interplay between the characters serve the overall concept of individualism and the juxtaposition within people.
Sato’s script uses exposition and narration to expose Keita’s unsavoury behaviour. It’s clever because the audience only ever knows Keita’s thoughts and motivations, and never any of the other characters. It’s highly effective in creating perspective and highlighting the idea that humans will never truly find out the truth of what those around them are going through. Sato’s script, combined with the minimalist design and the use of props, makes for an impactful and chilling experience full of metaphors and darkly comedic beats.
The stage is set with three computer cubicles facing the audience, each space decorated in a way that resonates with the individual characters’ personalities. It’s important to note that Mr Tea’s cubicle isn’t visible on stage, a stark reminder of his role as an outsider. Moveable frames are used to create a divide between these three spaces. These act as symbolic presentations of the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped – not just within the four walls of the café, but in the daunting task of living. These frames are also some of the more important pieces used in the more physical parts of the performance, from the act of self-harm to the dances incorporated.
Net Café Refugee will leave an overwhelming desire for more. Its simplistic presentation adds to the overall charm, but what will hook people is its excellent examination of its themes. There’s plenty to unpack, and the ending leaves a tragic and dissatisfying tang – one that is heavily reflective of the human indifference to the struggles of others. What viewers are left with will be an insatiable thirst for a life for this play after the Camden Fringe.
Mae Trumata
Photo: Courtesy of Net Café Refugee
Net Café Refugee is at Camden People’s Theatre from 17th until 24th August 2025. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.
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