The Political Butterfly Effect

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The Political Butterfly Effect: Did a doomed West End musical shape Australia's immigration policy?

Did a doomed West End musical shape Australia's immigration policy?

BBC Radio 4 - The Political Butterfly Effect, Did a doomed West End musical shape Australia's immigration policy?

Jim Waterson asks if a doomed West End musical left migrants living on a Pacific island.

Jim Waterson investigates whether a doomed investment in a West End musical about Leonardo Da Vinci left the Pacific island nation of Nauru housing Australia’s migrants.

When a 1960s pop star decided to write a musical based on the life of Leonardo Da Vinci, it’s unlikely he thought about how it would come to impact immigration policy on the other side of the world. 

The tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be one of the richest countries on earth due to its natural resources but blew its cash in a series of disastrous investments, including funding a production of the musical in London’s West End. With few other options to prop up its economy, it became an off-shore processing centre for Australia’s asylum seekers.

Presenter: Jim Waterson
Producer: Hannah Varrall
Executive Producer: Katherine Godfrey and Robbie MacInnes
Mixing: Alexis Adimora
Contributors: Tommy Moeller, Hal Fowler, Paul Farrell
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Did a doomed West End musical shape Australia's immigration policy?

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