WILL STONE applauds a fine production that endures because its ever-relevant portrait of persecution
Latest editorial
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
Re-releases from Sharks and Return To Forever, and a new release from Nikki O’Neill
‘Chance encounters are what keep us going,’ says novelist Haruki Murakami. In Amy, a chance encounter gives fresh perspective to memories of angst, hedonism and a charismatic teenage rebel.
MATTHEW HAWKINS surveys the upcoming programme of contemporary dance in Glasgow, and picks some highlights
HENRY BELL is provoked by a book that looks toward, but does not fully explore the question of who gets to imagine the shapes of cities to come
GUILLERMO THOMAS recommends a useful book aimed at informing activists with local examples of solidarity in action around the world
RON JACOBS welcomes the translation into English of an angry cry from the place they call the periphery
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
More from this author
MAYER WAKEFIELD laments the lack of audience interaction and social diversity in a musical drama set on London’s Underground
MAYER WAKEFIELD has reservations about the direction of a play centered on a DVLA re-training session for three British-Pakistani motorists
MAYER WAKEFIELD wonders why this 1978 drama merits a revival despite demonstrating that the underlying theme of racism in the UK remains relevant
MAYER WAKEFIELD speaks to playwright Richard Bean about his new play Reykjavik that depicts the exploitation of the Hull-based “far-fleet” trawlermen
Similar stories
A nervous year, showing that the theatre, like the world, stands on a precipice and seems uncertain where to jump
PAUL DONOVAN applauds a good piece of political theatre that offers a glimpse of how badly children have been treated in the UK