The subject of James Graham’s THE ANGRY BRIGADE is a real life terrorist cell working out of a basement in .London in the the 1970s comprising left wing anti-elitist urban guerillas. Known as the Angry Brigade they carried out bombings of high profile properties including the embassies of far right regimes, the homes of conservative MPs, banks, police stations- even the BBC’s outside broadcast unit covering the Miss World pageant.
The play is clearly delineated into two halves. In Act 1 we are drawn into the world of the police trying to find the perpetrators. and in Act 2 we are taken into the world of the terrorists.
Whilst i appreciated the performances I found that I was never really engaged with Alex Bryant- Smith‘s production. I suspect that I just didn’t like the play. It left me a bit cold. I truly didn’t believe what was happening on stage. The police officers didn’t feel real- they were so bumbling and lacked the angst and drive that I associate with police trying to solve a very high profile case. The terrorists also didn’t feel real. I didn’t feel any fire or dangerousness in the characters.
Over to you. You may well have a very different experience of the production than I did.
James Graham ‘s THE ANGRY BRIGADE is playing the New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown until Saturday 2nd November, 2019. Performances Thursdays to Saturdays at 7.30pm and Sundays at 5pm. There is one Saturday matinee performance at 2pm on Saturday 2nd November, 2019.
CAST : Benjamin Balte, Will Bartolo, Sonya Kerr, Nicholas Papademetriou, Kelly Robinson, Davey Seagle and Madeleine Withington.
CREATIVES: Set and costume design- Sallyanne Facer, Sound design-Glenn Brathwaite, Visual designer- Andrew Langcake, Voice and dialect coach Amanda Stephens Lee, Assistant Director- Mark G Nagle.
Production photography by Bob Seary