How Many Miles to Basra?

Synopsis

Southern Iraq, April 2003. Four soldiers, a journalist and their Iraqi translator set off on an unauthorised journey deep into the Iraqi countryside in a disastrous attempt to make amends for the deaths of some local men at a vehicle checkpoint.

Our Review:

2 October 2006

In 2004, How Many Miles to Basra? was a radio play, acclaimed as stark and terrifying. Unfortunately, the stage version, premiered at the West Yorkshire Playhouse, has lost much of its ability to shock and awe, partly because its radio-play origins are still apparent. While it remains a worthwhile examination of many relevant issues, it seldom strikes sparks as a drama.

The piece benefits from a neat framing device. Radio reporter Ursula Gunn returns from the Iraq war and, with Tariq, her producer, reviews her recordings made on a doomed British expedition. This enables Colin Teevan to spotlight his characters in revelatory monologues to mike (often the most moving passages of the play) and to switch to sound effects at moments when visuals become impossible – an exploding car, for instance. However, when Tariq attempts to persuade Ursula to surrender the discs and accept the MOD’s lying version of events, the debate on war and the media seldom rises above...

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