*/
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Clean Break
Running until 30 November 2019 at the Donmar Theatre
‘Blank’ is 100 largely unconnected scenes written by Alice Birch to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Clean Break, the estimable theatre company which for 40 years has ‘used theatre to transform the lives of women with experience in the criminal justice system’, including of course being in prison. The production team at the Donmar chose 30 of these scenes to enact and were free to decide the playing order. It makes for an absorbing evening (two hours without interval) but these are really snapshots, usually unconnected to a previous or subsequent scene. The cast play a number of parts. It is not a conventional play with plot or character development.
Director Maria Aberg and a brilliant cast of 14 women and two young girls rise to the occasion. Over and over again, they plunge straight in, with intense and sometimes harrowing emotion. They are assisted by a clever and highly adaptable double height set designed by Rosie Elnile.
What is powerfully brought home is a litany of what some women endure. Mental illness, infanticide, domestic violence, drug addiction and appalling parenting are all there. A drug addict tries to burgle her parents’ home and is later seen soliciting for prostitution and later still having to be fatally subdued in gaol. A vulnerable woman naively falls in love with a violent man; in due course she tries but fails to get into a refuge.
The longest sequence is ‘Dinner Party’ which involves the entire cast. They are non-victims including a police officer who arrests violent men and a lawyer who sometimes defends them. They feast on dishes like fattoush salad presumably from the Ottolenghi cook book. Cases of wine arrive (by bicycle) as does cocaine. It is 40 minutes of superb ensemble playing but it is a long time before we get to the debating point. A guest becomes more and more upset at what she sees. Finally she announces that she has just gone upstairs and urinated on her hostess’s sleeping child. She hasn’t but she has her reasons: ‘My mother did piss on me and I am fully capable of controlling my bladder. I am able not to repeat her patterns of behaviour. I am able to choose not to hurt others despite the fact that my mother effectively taught me to.’ She accuses the others of saying the right thing and being aware of what is awful, ‘in order to buy yourself the time and the life to do absolutely nothing of worth or meaning or good in the world’.
It should be a moment of moral conflict but somehow that does not quite happen. Eventually the scene terminates with what might be a child actor’s favourite role. One of the little girls comes out with a baseball bat, stands on a chair and smashes up the dinner table, fattoush salad and all.
To book and for more information please visit: https://bit.ly/2NYTtG4
The Donmar is supported by their Principal Sponsor, Barclays
Reviewer David Wurtzel
‘Blank’ is 100 largely unconnected scenes written by Alice Birch to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Clean Break, the estimable theatre company which for 40 years has ‘used theatre to transform the lives of women with experience in the criminal justice system’, including of course being in prison. The production team at the Donmar chose 30 of these scenes to enact and were free to decide the playing order. It makes for an absorbing evening (two hours without interval) but these are really snapshots, usually unconnected to a previous or subsequent scene. The cast play a number of parts. It is not a conventional play with plot or character development.
Director Maria Aberg and a brilliant cast of 14 women and two young girls rise to the occasion. Over and over again, they plunge straight in, with intense and sometimes harrowing emotion. They are assisted by a clever and highly adaptable double height set designed by Rosie Elnile.
What is powerfully brought home is a litany of what some women endure. Mental illness, infanticide, domestic violence, drug addiction and appalling parenting are all there. A drug addict tries to burgle her parents’ home and is later seen soliciting for prostitution and later still having to be fatally subdued in gaol. A vulnerable woman naively falls in love with a violent man; in due course she tries but fails to get into a refuge.
The longest sequence is ‘Dinner Party’ which involves the entire cast. They are non-victims including a police officer who arrests violent men and a lawyer who sometimes defends them. They feast on dishes like fattoush salad presumably from the Ottolenghi cook book. Cases of wine arrive (by bicycle) as does cocaine. It is 40 minutes of superb ensemble playing but it is a long time before we get to the debating point. A guest becomes more and more upset at what she sees. Finally she announces that she has just gone upstairs and urinated on her hostess’s sleeping child. She hasn’t but she has her reasons: ‘My mother did piss on me and I am fully capable of controlling my bladder. I am able not to repeat her patterns of behaviour. I am able to choose not to hurt others despite the fact that my mother effectively taught me to.’ She accuses the others of saying the right thing and being aware of what is awful, ‘in order to buy yourself the time and the life to do absolutely nothing of worth or meaning or good in the world’.
It should be a moment of moral conflict but somehow that does not quite happen. Eventually the scene terminates with what might be a child actor’s favourite role. One of the little girls comes out with a baseball bat, stands on a chair and smashes up the dinner table, fattoush salad and all.
To book and for more information please visit: https://bit.ly/2NYTtG4
The Donmar is supported by their Principal Sponsor, Barclays
Reviewer David Wurtzel
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Clean Break
Running until 30 November 2019 at the Donmar Theatre
Efforts continue on gender equality, support for the Bar, meaningful reform for the sector and advocating for the rule of law
To mark International Women’s Day, Louise Crush of Westgate Wealth Management looks at how financial planning can help bridge the gap
Casey Randall of AlphaBiolabs answers some of the most common questions regarding relationship DNA testing for court
Leading drug, alcohol and DNA testing laboratory AlphaBiolabs has made a £500 donation to Beatson Cancer Charity in Glasgow as part of its Giving Back campaign
Girls Human Rights Festival 2025: a global gathering for change
Exclusive Q&A with Henry Dannell
Marking Neurodiversity Week 2025, an anonymous barrister shares the revelations and emotions from a mid-career diagnosis with a view to encouraging others to find out more
Patrick Green KC talks about the landmark Post Office Group litigation and his driving principles for life and practice. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
Desiree Artesi meets Malcolm Bishop KC, the Lord Chief Justice of Tonga, who talks about his new role in the South Pacific and reflects on his career
Sir Nicholas Mostyn, former High Court judge, on starting a hit podcast with fellow ‘Parkies’ after the shock of his diagnosis
Once you submit your silk application, what happens next? Sir Paul Morgan explains each stage of the process and reflects on his experience as a member of the KC Selection Panel