Theatre News

Verbatim Drama Stockwell Transfers to Tricycle

Editorial Staff
London's West End Off-West End

Stockwell, the verbatim drama about the 2005 shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes that premiered last month at the Landor Theatre (See News, 30 Jun 2009), will transfer to the Tricycle Theatre next month, where it runs from 10 to 20 September (preview 9 September),

Stockwell, which is directed by Sophie Lifschutz and features a script by Kieron Barry drawn from the transcripts of the 2008 inquest, examines the events that led to the shooting, which occurred on 22 July 2005. The play pulls together the diverse voices of those involved to give a sense of a city in turmoil following the bombings and attempted bombings in London that July.

Speaking to Whatsonstage.com before she began rehearsals for the Landor run, Lifschutz commented: “(Stockwell) is a chance for people to hear, in the their own words, what the witnesses said in the courtroom. I don’t have a conclusion and I don’t think that the audience will be necessarily able to draw a conclusion. I want them to be challenged by it and gripped by it and engage with it.”

The Tricycle has a long association with verbatim ‘enquiry’ dramas, with previously acclaimed productions including The Colour of Justice, which looked at the Stephen Lawrence enquiry, Guantánamo: ‘Honor Bound to Defend Freedom’ (which transferred to the West End and Broadway), 2007’s Called to Account about the war in Iraq and, earlier this year, the Fringe First-winning Deep Cut (See News, 12 Feb 2009).