What Shadows, at the Park Theatre, London

Ian McDiarmid as Enoch Powell. Photo (c) Park Theatre.

Script by Chris Hannan.  Directed by Roxana Silbert

The minimalist set of What Shadows, and the intimate space of the Park200 stage, result in a strange juxtaposition: that of the unassuming setting against the universal ideas of the play. Certainly, Enoch Powell’s Rivers of Blood speech – what this play centres on – was divisive and to this day creates questions relevant for a post-UKIP, post-Referendum Britain. Chris Hannan’s script is the sort one can imagine to be used as a set work for senior school drama pupils, and in the hands of a lesser cast could have become trite and self-conscious, precisely because of the fundamental themes the characters have to grapple with. The superb cast ensures this never happens.

Amelia Donker and Joanne Pierce in What Shadows. Photo (c) Park Theatre.

Ian McDiarmid portrays an unwavering and monolithic Enoch Powell, a man of his time and milieu, who is not quite such an antagonist as to be totally unrelatable. Joanne Pierce’s Sofia, recalled from her academic and social exile by Amelia Donker’s Rose Cruikshank, is likeable not only in her flaws as she climbs her way out of the pit of her previous failure, but also in her honesty of how these have brought her low.

Donker handles, with great sensitivity, a Rose Cruikshank who realises that she, too, has behaved in a racist manner, and in concert with Pierce creates a moment of revelation that is almost searing. The recognition that we are all prejudiced – no matter how hard we try – was for me palpable, and surprising in its poignancy.

The pantheon of characters works brilliantly to bring texture to this tapestry on identity. Paula Wilcox’s Grace Hughes – the last white woman on her street in Wolverhampton, who is herself a central character in Powell’s Rivers of Blood speech – contrasts with her neighbour (and later, her husband) Saeed, played by the prolific Waleed Akhtar. Ameet Chana’s character Sultan provides a comic foil in some heavy dialogue, while also highlighting the “two lives” and split identities that immigrants have. Wilcox’s sensitive Marjorie Jones plays off well against Pierce’s strident and hard Pamela Powell.

Nicholas Le Prevost’s Clem Jones, an uneasy bystander and reluctant friend and advisor to Powell, is by far my favourite character. Many can relate to the discomfort felt when an old friend changes, gradually, becoming less recognisable, and the inner struggle we face when deciding whether they still get our loyalty. Clem Jones sees the dangers of Powell’s position, but is torn between helping his friend, and not allowing his racist discourse to be promoted. He chooses the former, fully aware that he is aiding and enabling the divisive speech to be picked up by the media, and the irreversible consequences of this.

Ian McDiarmid and Nicholas Le Prevost in What Shadows. Photo (c) Park Theatre.

Cast:

IAN MCDIARMID – ENOCH POWELL
NICHOLAS LE PREVOST – CLEM JONES
AMELIA DONKER – ROSE CRUIKSHANK & JOYCE CRUIKSHANK
PAULA WILCOX – GRACE HUGHES & MARJORIE JONES
WALEED AKHTAR – SAEED
AMEET CHANA – SULTAN & DOCTOR SHARMA
JOANNE PIERCE – SOFIA & PAMELA