Turning riots into a drama
When I first heard that theatre director Nicholas Kent was going to be putting on a production this autumn about this year’s city centre riots, my first thought was “too soon”. My second thought was that any play that tries to capture the anger and disaffection of working class kids is going to feel about as real as those authentic Hermes bags you get sold when on holiday in Spain. Turns out was wring on both counts as the play “The Riots” which opened this week at the tiny Tricycle Theatre has been putting bums on seats and been getting rave reviews in the press. No mean feat for any new production, especially one dealing with such a sensitive and controversial subject.
For the play’s writer, Gillian Slovo, the production has been a real labour of love. She witnessed some of the worst violence near her London home and feels that the government have attempted to sweep the riots and their consequences under the carpet by refusing to hold a public inquiry, a decision I hadn’t even heard about until I read a review of “The Riots” in a daily newspaper. It does seem a bit wrong that the only in-depth analysis of such a significant series of events will be made on stage rather than in the courts or in parliament….
Slovo actually hired a team of researchers to help ensure that the play was as real as possible, interviewing dozens of people affected by the riots as well as many of those convicted of being involved in some of the violent incidents. It is this attention to detail which stops the play from seeming voyeuristic or opportunistic; instead, you get a real sense of someone trying to make sense of the events of this summer through characters and dialogue that feels spontaneous and alive. A theatrical event can hardly replace a genuine inquiry into the causes of the riots, but people affected may find some sort of closure by listening to the words of those who took part, as spoken by actors. And those who took part may think twice about similar behaviour in the future if they could understand that their actions had consequences.
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