The following reviews of This Much is True are available:
By Jeremy Kingston
Posted: Nov 3 2009
This impressive play is the second in four months to plunge into the whirlpool of evidence concerning the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes in July 2005. The story goes that Nicolas Kent, the artistic director of the Tricycle, was unable to buy a seat for Kieron Barry's Stockwell during its sell-out run at the Landor in the summer and decided that the only way he could see it was to arrange a transfer to his own theatre.
That the case continues to exert outrage and dismay is no surprise — the 503 Theatre (above the Latchmere pub in Battersea) was packed when I attended the last preview of this further exposure of the truths and untruths, panic and incompetence surrounding the death of this innocent Brazilian. We will presumably be offered yet another version with the publication this week of Policing Controversy by Sir Ian Blair, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police at the time of the wretched business.
Mistakes will happen, and it has to be remembered that only a fortnight before his death at Stockwell Underground station terrorist bombs had killed and injured more Londoners on a single day than since the height of the Blitz. But it isn't so much the panic in the police force before the killing as the panic afterwards that still prompts dismay and anger: the denials, the untruths and nastiest of all, perhaps, attempts to besmirch the dead man's character.
Where Barry restricted himself to transcripts of the inquest for his play, Paul Unwin and Sarah Beck have gone outside the courtroom to interview friends and family, lawyers and even senior police officers. These include Andy Hayman, the former Assistant Commissioner under Sir Ian, whose contributions here are numerous. The facial expressions and tone of voice that Gerald Kyd adopts when playing him are illuminating.
Another major contributor is Michael Mansfield, QC, counsel for the de Menezes family, given a steely precision in a fine performance by Justine Waddell. All members of the cast play numerous characters, and on occasion the jumps between them are unclear. Yet this scarcely matters amid the continuing whirl of grief and shock.
Beck has previous experience in verbatim drama, and Unwin's long CV includes co-creating Casualty and Holby City. The two know how to create from diverse testimony a dramatic whole, ranging between group uproar and isolated speeches, which themselves range between the carefully precise, the self-serving and the grief-stricken. Tim Roseman's direction also uses numerous theatrical approaches, including video projections, adroit changes in pace and even Pirandellian interruptions.
With its emphasis on the tragedy's human cost in shock and sorrow This Much is True gives us a clear-eyed glimpse of what lay behind the official reports and misreporting.
The article in its original context on the Times Website
By Theo Bosanquet
Posted: Nov 5 2009
The 2005 shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes is one of this year's hottest topics on the Fringe, with two plays earlier in the year (Oh Well Never Mind Bye at the Union and Stockwell at the Landor), and now this offering at Theatre503, all dealing with different aspects of the tragedy.
Of the three, This Much is True has the widest scope. Its cast of six portray characters ranging from Sir Ian Blair to members of the Justice for Jean campaign, in a rapid-fire tapestry of scenes complemented and interspersed by film projections, ringing mobile phones and even a Pirandellian interruption from a stage manager.
There's a lot going on, and from the moment you step into the theatre it's nearly impossible to take in every detail – from Brian Paddick's signed autobiography sitting smugly on a shelf, to the enveloping graffiti work of Milo Tchais, it's a feast for the senses.
The script, neatly compiled by Paul Unwin and Sarah Beck, is drawn from a plethora of testimonies, some from inquest transcripts and media reports, others sourced directly by the creators. Whereas Stockwell focused on the minutiae of events on the day through edited transcripts from last year's inquest, This Much is True speculates on the fallout of the tragedy, and points its fingers as much at the media as at the officers in charge on the day.
It also dares to raise some further-reaching questions, notably regarding the motivations of the original 7/7 bombers and speculations as to the future for our "overcrowded island". It also draws an important comparison between the police in this country and those in Brazil, who make the Met's 'shoot to kill' policy look like a tea party. "This is why we know he didn't run" says a friend of De Menezes, in one of the evening's most poignant moments.
Full credit must go to the cast - Amber Agar, Stefano Braschi, Alice Da Cunha, Gerald Kyd, Beatriz Romilly and Justine Waddell - who, despite a smattering of dubious accents, never drop the ball throughout the evening's 100-minute running time. Under the innovative guidance of director Tim Roseman (whose influences must surely include the work of Rupert Goold at Headlong) and performing on Paul Wills' meticulously designed stage, they bring into sharp focus a huge range of details from the case that are too easily forgotten – the fact that the Met tried (unsuccessfully) to pin a rape allegation on De Menezes a year after the shooting, for example.
Occasionally the bombardment of information and characters can become a little overwhelming, and it requires a strong focus to keep pace. But this, if anything, is a fair reflection of the maelstrom of questions and misinformation that have dogged the case since the outset.
The article in its original context at WhatsOnStage.com
By Sally Stott
Posted: Nov 4 2009
Four years after the shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes and a series of theatre, film and TV dramatisations later, and you may feel that there isn't a Stockwell transcript left to be given the verbatim treatment - but this is a production that nonetheless finds something new to say.
Using first-hand interviews, along with records from the time and media reports, Paul Unwin and Sarah Beck juxtapose the perspectives of law enforcers, family members and campaigners to form a detailed account of how an innocent man came to be mistaken for a terrorist and shot by the police at Stockwell tube station. It may now be a familiar story, but lesser known aspects - such as the police's shoddy attempts to taint De Menezes' reputation and their treatment of his family - are insightful and pertinent.
Director Tim Roseman's immersive production is well-complemented by slick performances from the versatile cast and set against a dynamic audiovisual landscape. At times the tirade of information can feel overwhelming, but the weird idiosyncrasies of real life speech offer some lovely moments of light relief.
One of the play's most original (but perhaps least deliberate) observations depicts the gulf that exists between immigrant families, such as that of De Menezes, and their well to do, socially-concerned campaigners. Somewhat bizarrely, the actors playing the De Menezes family are listed separately to everyone else in the play's programme. Will 'Justice 4 Jean' ever be achieved? Hopefully, but whether Londoners of all backgrounds will be given equal respect and protection in the future is another matter.
The article in its original context on The Stage website
By Timothy Ramsden
Posted: Nov 05 2009
The truth? The whole truth? Nothing but the truth?
Verbatim it is; Tribunal it's not. In their intricately skilful cut-and-paste of interviews and testimony writers Paul Unwin and Sarah Beck place the 2005 shooting on Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell tube station in the context of recent terrorist bomb-plots in London, the successful one of 7 July and the subsequent failed attempt.
By giving voices to all parties, intercutting rapidly and having three cast members play a multitude of witnesses and participants in the shooting and police response, This Much Is True contrasts the calm, procedural detail of theatrical recreations of Tribunals developed by Kilburn's Tricycle Theatre.
And while three actors (immaculately flexible in all but Scottish accents) play the rapid montage of campaigners, police and others, supplemented by video and still photos (not to mention the documentation covering Theatre 503's walls), another trio emerge from the audience as cousins of Jean Charles.
They portray the anger, agony and grief of bereavement, when a completely innocent man was skilfully shot by police, in the only body area that precludes a suspect reflex-triggering a shot or explosion.
Doubtless ten audience members could leave with ten interpretations of all the evidence spoken. But, whatever's to be said about subsequent procedures, it seems likely de Menezes died because a key police observer was taking a toilet break when he left his home in a block where terrorist suspects also lived. It's the little things that trip-up established procedures.
There again, the First World War started because a chauffeur took a wrong turning down a crowded street. And prosecuting the marksmen would have involved overturning a principle on which many claims of unfair treatment rely. Yet none of this, caught out of the whirls of argument, lessens the impact when it's your cousin who's dead.
"This much is true." The title words are spoken in the play, and imply how much can't be confirmed truth. In this way the busy-ness, swift changes and occasional disruptions of Tim Roseman's admirable production, played with a judicious mix of coolness and characterisation, capture perfectly the script's detailed story, told through a confusion of conflicting views.
The article in its original context at Reviews Gate
By Karla Williams
Posted: Nov 2009
Brazilian national Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead at Stockwell tube station nearly four and a half years ago.
Since then the events surrounding his unlawful killing have been explored and documentated in various ways, resulting in a film, a TV drama, two songs and a documentary play all combining to highlight the Metropolitan Police's catalogue of errors.
The latest theatrical production, following Keiron Barry's verbatim play Stockwell which was staged earlier this year at the Landor before transferring to the Tricycle, is This Much is True, co-written by Sarah Beck and Casualty and Holby City co-creator Paul Unwin.
On 22nd July 2005 Jean Charles left his home in Tulse Hill, London, and travelled to Stockwell Tube station where he was shot seven times by undercover police officers who misidentified him as a suicide bomber about to explode a device on the London underground. The officers were in fact looking for four men whom they believe to be responsible for the failed bombings a day before. All four of these men were described as Somali, Eritrean, or Ethiopian in appearance - de Menezes was Brazilian.
Unwin and Beck's script uses a number of different techniques to tell its story and focuses not just on the blunders of the police but also on the direct effect the killing had on the community and on Jean Charles' family. It approaches the event from numerous perspectives, ranging from the Michael Mansfield, the lawyer representing the family during the inquest, to Brian Paddick, the Deputy Assistant Commissioner at the time of the shooting, and Yasmin Khan, a principle member of the campaign group Justice4Jean.
The use of so many viewpoints enables the audience to gain a panoramic perspective on the incident and the play explores the pain and anguish felt by his family in a way that Barry's Stockwell did not. We see de Menezes' cousin Vivian (brilliantly played by Beatriz Romilly) crying when being told of his death and a harrowing scene in which his friend, Alex, has to view his body.
Tim Roseman's production uses only six cast members to play a multitude of roles but the transitions between characters are seamless and the production as a whole is wonderfully fluid; the audience are never confused or left wondering whom they are watching.
While there are no weak links in this skillfully and impressively acted ensemble piece, Justine Waddell and Beatriz Romilly give the stand out performances. Waddell plays a whole host of characters including the lawyer Michael Mansfield, Canadian Lana Vandenberghe and the solicitor Harriet Wistrich, and, with each new role she remains both convincing and engaging. Spanish born actress Romilly also stands out, partly due to her believably as a Brazilian national but also because of the conviction she brings to the role of Vivian.
It is unlikely that this will be the last production to examine the emotive and tragic circumstances of Jean Charles de Menezes' death - it's an event that needs to be remembered and returned to - however its original manner of staging, Beck and Unwin's thought-provoking script and a memorable final scene make this one of the most potent and insightul explorations of the subject to date.
The article in its original context at musicOMH