Telling the topical tale of four young anarchists in the 1970s, The Angry Brigade explores the real life tale of bombing from the dual perspective of first the police officers investigating, then the group of students who notoriously planted bombs at a Miss World pageant in 1970.
A cast of four play both the activists and the police hunting them down, in a production that taps into both anti-establishment fury and fearful conservatism. A split structure, as we learn about the Angry Brigade from first the investigating officers and then the anarchists themselves, deftly enacts the sense of overlap between these two spheres.
James Graham's script is artfully constructed, merging the humour and desperation and revealing the anarchist in us all. While the dialogue in the first half was occasionally predictable, the whip-quick comic timing and impressive adaptability of the cast kept up the pace. Star of the show, with spot on comic caricatures, was Harry Melling (Harry Potter). And in the second half Pearl Chanda gave an engaging and nuanced performance of Anna, whose anarchist leaning are in conflict against a desire to be loved.
The staging was suitably dramatic as an orderly office dissolved into chaos and the idea of breaking down class walls was made literal by a collapse of both the stage backdrop and the fourth wall between audience and actor. Filing cabinets were thrust together to mimic violent bomb blasts, which was initially effective but then was a little overused.
A cast of four play both the activists and the police hunting them down, in a production that taps into both anti-establishment fury and fearful conservatism. A split structure, as we learn about the Angry Brigade from first the investigating officers and then the anarchists themselves, deftly enacts the sense of overlap between these two spheres.
James Graham's script is artfully constructed, merging the humour and desperation and revealing the anarchist in us all. While the dialogue in the first half was occasionally predictable, the whip-quick comic timing and impressive adaptability of the cast kept up the pace. Star of the show, with spot on comic caricatures, was Harry Melling (Harry Potter). And in the second half Pearl Chanda gave an engaging and nuanced performance of Anna, whose anarchist leaning are in conflict against a desire to be loved.
The staging was suitably dramatic as an orderly office dissolved into chaos and the idea of breaking down class walls was made literal by a collapse of both the stage backdrop and the fourth wall between audience and actor. Filing cabinets were thrust together to mimic violent bomb blasts, which was initially effective but then was a little overused.
Playwright James Graham: political themes
Playwright James Graham ( Privacy at the Donmar Warehouse) first made waves with his Olivier-nominated political drama This House, which enjoyed not one but two runs at the National Theatre. The gripping play about parliament between 1974 and 1979 was carefully researched, demonstrating a rigour that is just as pertinent in The Angry Brigade. And while the spirit of the 70's is captured in this production, the echoes to contemporary society are just as pertinent.
| What | The Angry Brigade, Bush Theatre |
| Where | Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Road, London, W12 8LJ | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Shepherd's Bush (underground) |
| When |
30 Apr 15 – 13 Jun 15, 7:30 PM – 9:00 PM |
| Price | £15 - £20 |
| Website | Click here to book via Bush Theatre |
