Theatre
resultant adaptation will make its Iiuropean premiere at the I‘ringe. after much acclaim Stateside.
Sitting in a downtown New York cafe. Weinberger. who speaks in New York Jewish tones that remind one irresistibly of Woody Allen. describes the effect of the production with a chortle. "What‘s great in the play is that Alttsl at the point where you start to say “I don‘t believe they really said that“. they show video clips of them actually saying it. It‘s really funny. it works well.‘
Weinberger‘s own account of what occurred in Iraq amounts to a well-documented history. but it‘s quite alternative to the party line regurgitated unquestioningly by the [‘8 media: ‘Saddam was the enemy of the fundamentalists. and he was our great ally in our light against fundamentalism in Iran. Ilis regime was seen as a bulwark against fundamentalism. The big thing about Saddam is that all the bad stuff he did. he did when he was our ally. Iior the last ten years or so it was like the autumn of the patriarchy « he was holed up in his palaces. he had a new wife. he was writing his novels. he‘d completely lost interest in running the government. and really did very little had stuff. llis sons rounded up a few people and put them in prison. but the regime was completely collapsing from within. The really ugly stuff happened when he was our ally. and we were providing him with the weapons.‘
I"or Weinberger. the war is the outstanding symptom of a general imperial decline. marked out by corruption and stasis at home. ‘The ama/ing thing is how the administration is incapable of actually creating anything. New Orleans is still a total disaster area. and ground mm. more than live years later. is still a vacant lot‘. Weinberger says. ‘Republicans are supposed to be about small government and not spending. but this administration has been the biggest spender of all time. They‘re cutting taxes so revenue has gone down. but the war is incredibly expensive. The money is just going into their l‘riends‘ pockets in big business. What‘s new is the level of corruption —— it‘s like a banana republic. Bush believes that the function of government is making his friends rich.‘
As a means of cutting through the media double speak. direct use of sources seems the way forward. if Kimberly Kefgen and Loren Noveck. theatrical adaptors of a young woman‘s blog from Iraq. are to be believed. Girl Blog From Iraq: Baghdad Burning (Pleasance (‘ourtyard 556 (3550. 2—28 Aug (not I4) 2.I0pm. £94210 (.£5—£ls’.50)) is the account of a woman whose life has been
changed by the invasion. the implementation of
new fundamentalist laws in a previously secular state and the sudden post 2003 lawlessness of Iraqi society. It works not by grand political statements. but by focusing on the familiar minutiae of life for an ordinary person belonging to a population that we‘ve been taught to believe is bizarre. exotic and in need of bombing.
A couple of days after my meeting with Weinberger. Kefgen and Noveck sit before me in another cafe. this time uptown. Noveck explains the importance of what is known as “verbatim theatre‘. ‘In the LS having a position has become suspect — you aren‘t meant to have a view on things‘. she says. ‘The great advantage of verbatim theatre in this respect is that we don‘t have audiences saying. “these girls. they‘re liberals. so I don‘t need to watch this play". The blog represents a view. but it's not our view. Its not about our synthesis of the information. it‘s about the information. It‘s about her story. she‘s telling it.‘
l-‘or Kefgen. this subverts the problem of
infotainment created h} the llictlltt‘s news coverage. ‘The mechanisms that are delivering that information are the same mechanisms that tell tis who got booted off .‘llllt'l‘ft'tlll [(10] last night and what happened in your favourite sitcom. Tragedy is something that‘s represented on the TV movie of the month as well as the news. so our minds get blurred between what is reality and what is liction. The fourth wall in the theatre makes the
TRAGEDY IS SOMETHING THAT'S REPRESENTED AS TV MOVIE OF THE MONTH
consequences of the war tnore real.‘
In (I Am) Nobody’s Lunch (Assembly Rooms. 226 2428. (128 Aug tnot 14) .‘xl5pm. L‘I I-L‘l2 (£5——l.‘l l I). by avant garde New York political theatre company The Civilians. direct quotation is also Used as an access to a truth that might otherwise be concealed by the media. In it. a multiplicity of folk were taped in interviews about the war. The company adds cabaret. music and song to reflect on these truths. and as director Steve (‘ossam informs
me. the level of disbelief ol the government‘s account of the war is greater than you might think: ‘There were certainly people who followed the conservative hard line. Those people were certainly out there. but this perception of a universal consensus is flawed. The more people we talked to. the more doubt we encottntered. If our government spoke and the media followed along. all sorts of people weren‘t buying.‘
And perhaps this willingness to question the party line lies behind the multiplicity of verbatim theatre shows this year. In We Don’t Know Shi’ite (I'nderbelly. 0870 745 3083. (v27 Aug (not I5) 7.40pm. £7.50 (£0500. linglish company WMI) theatre asked a succession of people about their perceptions of the Muslim community. Informed as folk are by Li bigoted media. the directly qtlolctl replies look like the basis for comedy. So too. Caught on Tape: The US Undressed (The Zoo. (v02 (i892. (r 8 Aug. l2.50pm. U) HAM. which ranges further than the war in gathering the ungarnished. unspun truths about I'S‘s social. political and sexual mores. This festival. the truth is out there. word for word.
What I heard about Iraq, Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, 6-28 Aug, 2.20pm, £9.50 (£8). Previews 2-5 Aug, £5.
‘ L A 2', n’, THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 53