PAUL FOLEY welcomes a dramatic account of the men and women involved in the pivotal moment of the 5th Pan African Congress
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Nightmare in the sun
MAYER WAKEFIELD finds himself caught in the crossfire during a riveting piece of activist theatre
IS THERE AN IMPERIALIST IN THE ROOM? Davinia Hamilton in Blanket Ban
[Ali Wright] 
HENRY BELL notes the curious confluence of belief, rebuilding and cheap materials that gave rise to an extraordinary number of modernist churches in post-war Scotland
GORDON PARSONS is disappointed by an unsubtle production of this comedy of upper middle class infidelity
MARTIN HALL passes time in the sanguine company of a traditional conservative, recalling their disastrous governments
MARIA DUARTE recommends the creepy thrills of David Cronenburg’s provocative and macabre exploration of grief
RUTH AYLETT relishes poetry that explores the historical echoes to be heard in Alicante, last refuge of the Spanish Republican government
Blanket Ban
Southwark Playhouse
BLANKET BAN is as much activism as it is theatre.
Marta Vella and Davinia Hamilton, two Maltese Londoners, have created a startling call to action for abortion rights which is funny, illuminating, a little uneven and at points devastating.
With some of the most liberal social laws in Europe, 300 days of sunshine and a “party all the time” attitude to life, the Mediterranean island of Malta is initially painted as a paradise. That illusion is quickly shattered for one member of the audience in particular — this sheepish reviewer himself — who is jokingly chastised for Britain’s 150-year colonial rule.
It’s the first of several damning history lessons across this breakneck, scattergun show which combines slapstick, fairytales, video testimony, political tirades and much more besides.
But the essential point of these storytelling devices is to demonstrate to the audience the devastating effect that Malta’s outright ban on abortion – whatever the circumstance – has on the lives of its women.
Vella and Hamilton introduce us to the stories of dozens of women who have suffered life-debilitating ordeals as a result of these laws. Last year the case of an American tourist who suffered a miscarriage and was refused an abortion because her foetus had a heartbeat, has led to a minor adjustment in the law, but the “anti-choice fanatics” still dominate the discourse.
A reminder came earlier this year, when Malta’s President, George Vella, openly and directly equated abortion with the Holocaust!
This vile comparison hadn’t even happened when this show was receiving a rapturous response at last summer’s Edinburgh Fringe and the evolving, live nature of this show is what makes it so riveting.
Its tenderness is matched by its discomforting intensity and while there are moments that get completely lost in the pace of the production, what cuts through most is the warning we’re left with: abortion rights were not given. They were fought for and it’s our duty to keep up that fight.
Blanket Ban is a refreshing rallying cry to the cause.
Runs until May 20. Box Office: 020 7407 0234, southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
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