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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

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.  

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