Crescent-FourPlay-100

100 - Director's Programme Notes


Like so many others, I'd watched the plane disappearing into the side of the tower; the flames erupting, the debris falling, the tiny figures jumping into the void.

And then the second plane, tilting wildly as it sliced through the first tower's twin.

The visual impact of these scenes had me in a trance state even before the stricken buildings collapsed onto the rescue workers below.

Bearing witness had left me stupified. Humane feelings beyond reach, obscured, denied from me by my amazement.

Where was my compassion? I felt guilty. I wanted to connect. I wanted to empathise. But how? And when?

The reckoning, when it came, was swift. The human cost of the disaster finally got through to me, when I heard the messages that had escaped from the catastrophe by phone, as those about to die spoke last words to loved ones.

Silently intruding into those private moments compelled me to imagine myself in the same situation. But who would I phone? And what would I say?

These were the most uncomfortable questions I had ever asked myself and the truth was,
I had no answers. The realisation was overwhelmingly profound.

The power of that moment came back to me the following August. I was in Edinburgh for the Fringe and was lucky enough to get in to see the play that everyone was talking about that year.
I had no idea what it was about and certainly no idea how hard it would hit me.

The play was 100 and the reviewer from the Scotsman newspaper, who was at the same performance as me, wrote that it moved her more profoundly than any other theatre she'd ever seen.

I entirely concurred.

In fact I'd resolved to one day be involved in a production of the play, even before the performance had ended. I've been nagging directors to take it on ever since. In a way I'm glad none of them did. When I was asked to direct at the Crescent there was no hesitation. 100 was top of my list. At last a chance to see it again!

I should make it clear that the play has nothing whatever to do with 9/11. In fact I'd say it has very little to do with death at all. I like to think of it more as a celebration of life.

If it achieves this by confronting its audience with some rather discomfitting questions along the way, it does so with the very best intentions.