Politics Takes Centre Stage

Politics and pleasure are not words that normally go well together. Traditionally people go to the theatre to kick back, relax and enjoy an evening of escapism. This is all changing with the current trend for political drama on the London stage.

Light-hearted satires and comedy romps are being phased out to make way for more sober offerings which wrestle with weighty issues. Conventional dramas are being forced to close early this summer to make way for these satirical attacks on government policy.

The fad started on the fringes but is now taking over the capital’s leading playhouses. Victoria Brittain’s Guantanamo: Honour Bound to Defend Freedom is a searing examination of the human fall out from the early stages of the War on Terror. All the dialogue is drawn from interviews with former detainees at Camp Delta and their relatives. A surprise summer hit, it transferred from Kilburn’s tiny Tricycle Theatre to the prestigious New Ambassadors on St. Martins Lane and looks set to continue its success on Broadway.

The London stage has never challenged its audience with so many explicitly ideological plays. Some feel it may just be a timely craze that is more than fitting in the current climate. However, we should relish the refreshing honesty of these plays and be grateful we live in a society where we can watch our government openly ridiculed on stage.

Vice Squad

Two police officers are under investigation following claims they took part in a sex act with porn stars while on duty in Soho. The officers were sent to calm a crowd who spotted the pornographic film being shot last Saturday. Instead they talked their way into the vehicle serving as a studio and convinced two female stars to perform a sex act on them while the crew secretly rolled the cameras.

Bronze for Banksy

Guerilla artist Banksy has struck again. A 20 foot satirical statue was erected in a central London park without permission in an attack on the British legal system. Several hundred fans converged on Clerkenwell Green for the unveiling. The figure of justice is depicted as a prostitute with leather boots and a thong.
It cost £22,000 to create, is made of solid bronze and weighs three and a half tonnes. Banksy said:” it is the most honest depiction of British justice currently on display in the capital.”

Double Debut

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest starring Hollywood hunk Christian Slater is to have its first West End outing after a successful run on the Edinburgh fringe. Slater is the latest in a long line of American stars to cross the Atlantic. Hollywood legend Jack Nicholson starred in the 1973 film version and Slater is the natural choice to bring the play to the West End for the first time. The Office’s Mackenzie Crook will also star. Tickets go on sale on 3 September.

Previouse article

 

Next article