London
Chilcot
Presented by Lung

Battersea Arts Centre, (BAC) to June 10
Lavender Hill
London SW11 5TN

7.30pm, June 10, 5.00pm.

Running time: 2hrs 10 mins with 15 min interval

TICKETS: 0207 223 2223
On-line: www.bac.org.uk;

Review: by Carole Woddis of performance seen June 1, 2016:

Quick off the mark with this tribunal hearing
With The Chilcot Report to be published in just over a month’s time, Lung Theatre have got in early with this tribunal staged event a la Nick Kent’s Tricycle hearings.

It’s to Lung artistic director, Matt Woodhead’s great credit that he’s so quickly off the mark. Many further examinations are bound to follow. Indeed, eight years ago, Kent himself staged Called to Account, putting the former Prime Minister Tony Blair `on trial’ over his handling of the invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Once again, the indispensable Guardian journalist, Richard Norton-Taylor, is on hand to help edit and pour through the hundreds of legal documents and millions of words given in evidence before Sir John Chilcot.

The result interestingly, not unlike Called to Account, comes to no fixed conclusion but re-rehearses some very well known arguments as to the lead-up to the event: Blair’s relationship with the Intelligence Services, his sofa style of government, the disparity between his solid belief in the `cause’ and the reservations of those around him including the Secretary for International Affairs, Clare Short and Eliza Manningham-Buller, former head of MI5 whose final words, chillingly, sum up the atmosphere behind closed doors.

`Throughout my career, even when quite junior, I have been involved in helping ministers to understand the inadequacies of intelligence.’

Not all of this comes over as decisively as it should. Woodhead stages the hearing in traverse and once again, the deluge of information threatens to overwhelm in Battersea’s old Council Chamber whose acoustics don’t always lend themselves to clarity, particularly when speakers’ backs are turned.

But there are haunting, acted out, testimonies from Iraqi civilians as to the devastation caused by the invasion and its lethal aftermath thanks to government complacency and lack of planning – most damningly described by Geoffrey Hoon, then Defence Secretary, whose approach to the inadequacy of equipment provided for the army is shockingly lackadaisical.

For the already converted, Lung’s Chilcot will simply confirm their convictions. But for a younger generation, new to the `facts’, if they can plough through the testimonies – broken up by Woodhead with video clips and individual accounts – it could be an eye-opener.

Chilcot
Presented by Lung

Cast:
Sanchia McCormack
Souad Faress
Thomas Wheatley
Jonathan Coote
Raad Rawi
Gary Pillai

Edited and compiled by: Richard Norton-Taylor & Matt Woodhead
Director: Matt Woodhead
Lighting and Video Designer: Will Monks
Set & Costume Designer: James Turner Donnelly
Sound Designer: Owen Crouch

Producer: Sarah Georgeson
Assistant Producer: Christabel Holmes

Chilcot was commissioned by The Lowry and Battersea Arts Centre, developed with and supported by The National Theatre Studio.

First performance at The Lowry Studio, May 26-28, 2016
First perf at Battersea Arts Centre, June 1, 2016

More see: www.lungtheatre.co.uk

@lungtheatre
#Chilcot

2016-06-03 09:54:51