“Little Revolution” – a play by Alecky Blythe

Little Revolution by Alecky Blythe

Almeida Theatre until 4^th October 2014 www.almeida.co.uk

During the summer of 2011, Hackney witnessed riots and looting, or in one character’s words “a little revolution”. Alecky Blythe’s verbatim play focuses more on the onlookers rather than the instigators and perhaps asks more questions than providing answers. It is thought provoking and well executed but quite disjointed and runs more like a documentary rather than a play. However this is a verbatim play, which means that Blythe does not write a script. Instead she conducts interviews with real-life people in newsworthy situations using a Dictaphone. All the dialogue in Little Revolution is a result of these recordings, all be it with some editing.

The story centres round the aftermath of a local shop’s looting, which is owned by Siva, a Tamil. Siva’s cause is taken up by various “pillars” of the community including Sarah, a middle class hippy wondrously played by Imogen Stubbs, a local councillor and a vicar. However this group forms part of the smart side of Hackney and is not fully representative. On the other side of the tracks a group of mothers take up the cause to stop criminalising Hackney youth to protest against the police policy of random arrests.

I found the concept of a verbatim play interesting (my first encounter) and I feel I need to explore some different works in order to get a better handle on this as a formula for theatre. One very positive aspect of the production was that amongst a stellar cast, which included a multitasking Rufus Wright in various roles, there were 31 volunteers, of varying ages, which were recruited from Hackney and Islington to form the “Community Chorus” for the production. Now that’s working with the community.