Shockingly bloodily
brutal, there are four-
letter words aplenty
throughout, but for all its
violence it is a powerful
moral story of our time.
Gagarin Way
was Gregory
Burke8217s first stage play. It is
a highly political piece but,
fortunately, it succeeds
dramatically by not trying to
take sides or deliver dogma.
What8217s more, he has not
created cut-out characters.
They are more complex than
that; they each have life in
them, played here to the hilt.
Apparently Burke didn8217t
expect it to be a comedy, but
it did provoke lots of
laughter; the first ten minutes
are devoted to a very funny
conversation about French
philosophers and global
warming 8211 but it cannot just
be described as a comedy.
The play, which takes place
in the loading bay of a
computer company based in
Fife, focuses on four Scots
of different ages but a
seemingly common local
background. Eddie and
Gary, two workers at the
firm, together agree to make
a political gesture: they plan
to kidnap and kill a
Japanese gent from top
management of the hated
multinational. He turns out
to be Frank, a middle-aged
consultant 8211 and he8217s from
Fife, too. Tom is a night
security guard, who at first
colludes but then gets in the
way of their plan. As the
facts of their lives emerge,
all their hopes and ideas
start to clash, combine and
oppose. At the end the
violence is unexpected,
shocking and pointless.
Chris Janes directed a near
immaculate production of
this difficult play with an
acute sense of pace and
timing.Ian Houghton gave a
truly mesmerising
performance as Eddie, a
low-class thug who has
always been interested in
violencein a role that
combined wicked humour
with a crazed imagination.
As Gary, a disillusioned,
disheartened and extremely
left-wing political activist,
Patrick Sunners was a
lumberingly awesome match
for his collaborator in crime,
equally menacing but in a
different way. Together they
were the real thing.
Young Tom, a gullible
politics graduate with a
dodgy degree, was played
by Adam Chamberlain. Paul
Morton as the kidnapped
Frank spent a lot of the
evening bound and gagged
but, despite the difference
between his age and the
character8217s, he did bring out
its mid-life cynicism in an
understated way.
To judge from audience
sizes it did not appeal to
many CoPs members 8211 a
pity because it provided a
memorableevening.Leonard Rogers40MMERCURY June 13, 2008
email: mercury@hertsessexnews.co.ukThe first MP to refuse to be a Lord,
who has met characters as diverse
as Saddam Hussein and Ghandi and
who stood with the miners on the
picket line in the 1984 strike, is coming
to Broxbourne to discuss his colourful
career.Former Labour minister Tony Benn, who served
in the cabinets of Prime Ministers Harold Wilson
and James Callaghan, has never been one to toe
the party line, ever since he became the youngest
MP in 1951 aged just 25.
He said: 8220I voted against the Government within
a few weeks of being there.
8220You8217re employed by 60,000 people. You8217re free
to say what you like but they are free to get rid
of you.
8220For 51 years I listened to people8217s problems.
You learn everything from that.8221
The 83-year-old, whose father William
Wedgewood Benn was made 1st Viscount
Stansgate in the House of Lords, was in line to
inherit the title following the death of his father
and elder brother Michael, who was killed in the
Second World War.
However, the young politician rejected the role
and was instrumental in the Peerage Act 1963,
which allowed the renunciation of peerages.
He said: 8220It was an inherited disease. I never
went near the place.8221
Mr Benn has met both notorious and renowned
figures in his life, notably the former Iraq
president Saddam Hussein and the revered peace
activist Mahatma Ghandi.
8220Saddam was a brute. But the war [on Iraq] was
about oil and power, nothing to do with
Saddam,8221 Mr Benn said.
The ex-minister remains opposed to the fighting
and believes Britain should withdraw.
He said: 8220More than 1 million Iraqis have died.
More than 4 million refugees have died.
8220It8217s a tragedy and a crime.8221
When he met Ghandi, Mr Benn was just 6 years
old and his father was Secretary of State for
India.
8220Grown-ups tend to pat children on the head and
speak to Dad, but Ghandi was sitting on the floor
and invited us to join him,8221 recalled Mr Benn.
Mr Benn stepped down as MP in 2001 8220to add
more time to politics8221 and now holds discussions
about how it has changed over the decades and
his opinions on the current Government.qAn Evening with Tony Benn
will take place at
Broxbourne Civic Hall on Thursday, 7.30pm.
Terrace 16314, stalls 16312. Call the box office.Sevendays
stageTony Benn, always arebel with a causeReview Gagarin Way,
Company of Players,
Hertford,
Fri May 30-Sat Jun 7Brutal play is
a moral taleShow aims to
bring together
dance rivalsCAMPAIGNER: Tony Benn overlooked by the Houses of
Parliament and Big Ben; inset,marching at the head of
an anti-Iraq war demonstration (s)Dance companies across the county are
being invited to take part in a
Hertfordshire show which aims to bring
together the local dance community.
The Academy from Royston is among the
groups already signed up for
Unified.
Brendon Hansford, director of hip-hop dance
company Alter Ego in Hatfield, which has
organised the event, said: 8220Within dance there
is often rivalry, obviously at competition level
but it doesn8217t always stop there.
8220It8217s a shame when this happens because we
all have something in common that we8217re
passionate about, and that8217s our love of dance.
8220By putting on this show we are hoping to
build bridges with other companies in Herts
and help towards developing a strong dance
community who support each other.8221
The show will take place at Wyllyotts Theatre
in Potters Bar from August 9-10.qFor further information call 07782
345111, e-mail
alteregodance@hotmail.com
or visit www.danceunified.co.uk
or
www.alteregodance.com.By Sara BlackFWide range of Stalls
F
BouncyCastles
F
Music & Drama performances
F
Hog Roast
F
Cream Teas
F
Barbecue
F
Cricket Matches
F
Tours of the College ChapelOld Hall Green,Nr Ware,Herts SG11 1DS Tel:01920 821504
www.stedmundscollege.orgin the CollegeGroundsSaturday 21 June 2008
12noon-4pm
Saturday 21 June 2008
12noon-4pmFREE ADMISSION TO ALLC
ARNIVAL
THEMEStEdmund8217s CollegeStHugh8217s SchoolMidsummer
FestivalFor further information and to book tickets Tel: 01992 441946
or Book Online at www.broxbourne.gov.uk/whatsonOne Night in Vegas
Sunday 27 July, 7.30pmAll Tickets 16317
(10% off for Friends of BCH)Comedy Night
Thursday 3 July, 8pmAll Tickets 16310Summer Eventsat Broxbourne Civic HallAn Audience with Tony Benn
Thursday 19 June, 7.30pmThe former Parliamentarian
and Cabinet Minister talks about his
life, diaries and the future.
Terrace 16314 Stalls 16312
(10% off for Friends of BCH)Tenorissimo
8230Three Tenors
Sunday 22 June, 2.30pmBroxbourne Civic Hall Gardens
All Tickets 16312.50
(10% off for Friends of BCH)U3 Unsigned Bands Night
Friday 11 July, 7pmFeaturing the best live unsigned bands
from Herts, Cambs and Essex
Five Bands for 1635The Drifters
Sunday 20 July, 7.30pmTerrace 16318.50, Stalls 16317.50
(10% off for Friends of BCH)
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