Early in the play a psychologist explains the origins of terrorist groups, pointing to the need for a “dreamer” who provides an inspirational ideological basis, and the enlistment of adolescents desperate for peer recognition, who respond to an image of themselves as shaping history and who have “a strong illusion of immortality”. He illustrates his thesis with a convincing scenario showing how easily a group could be organised to blow up four-wheel drives in Chelsea (or Waterloo). His explanation is supported by the young Jad’s escalation from stone thrower to terrorist.
Included also is the response of the victims. A particularly powerful moment in the performance is created through juxtaposing the testimony of a former IRA terrorist as he recalls planting a bomb at a conference and the recollections of a survivor. The gulf between their two viewpoints, the bomber who felt his actions were the “inevitable result of circumstances” and the uncomprehending shock of the victim, forcefully emphasises the need for not only “talking” but also “understanding”.
The widely divergent stories including those of a Ugandan girl soldier, recruited at eight years of age, a member of the Kurdish Workers’ Party and four Luton Muslims, show a common thread of abandonment, oppression and resentment. The stories from authorities faced with terrorism show reliance upon harsh retaliation: degradation, torture, imprisonment and execution. That the cycle continues is chillingly substantiated by the final scene making Pete Seeger’s “When Will We Ever Learn” a poignant musical conclusion.
Against a simple background, attired in white costumes with small additions to suggest change of character, occasionally supported by back projection, the eight actors (Matthew Costin, David D’Silva, Kira Fort, Zuzi Fort, Tiffany Joy, Alyson Standen, Kyle Stewart and Josephy Taylor) playing 26 roles between them, brought a wonderful intelligence, integrity and a humanity to their performances. Overall, a singularly moving production which at this time needs to be not only heard but acted upon. Courageous theatre from the courageous King Street Theatre.
