A Few Man Fridays

If go to the river today you'll find a big suprise.  You'll find the unassuming Riverside Studios and Cardboard Citizens' new play A Few Man Fridays. It is gritty, insightful and you may just learn about a culture you didn't even know existed.

Cardboard Citizens are a fab charity that works towards helping the homeless, through theatre. Sounds a bit poncy? I here you think. Yeah it does sound a bit... well you can imagine the theatre luvvie stereotype. But this charity does amazing work. Through the charity many homeless people are rehoused and find stable work and new lives. One of the many ways the company raises awareness and enables people to gain the confidence and skills to start a new chapter in their lives is through putting on plays. Running right now is A Few Man Fridays directed by Adrian Jackson.

Chagos Islands? Diego Garcia? Heard of them? Well neither had I until I had the pleasure of seeing this brilliant play. The story follows a young man, Prosper, on his journey to find out his true identity. Brought to Brixton with a white woman years ago to live in a Rastafarian commune, Prosper has no clue as to who he is, or where his white mother now lives. Just like Prospero in The Tempest, (who can't fail to see a similarity in the name, coincidence I think not) Prosper has been forced from his native land, and just like magic everyone seems to forgotten about it. Strange that.

As the story unfolds the audience get a lesson in British and American foreign policy. No prizes for guessing that it is calculated, immoral and leaves a whole bunch of people in a very undesirable situation. The people of Diego Garcia live on the island peacefully working for a British owned coconut farmer. They work hard and enjoy island life. Then some genius American decides "I want that Island so I can nuke everyone around it." They put it a bit more slyly then that, but that is the general gist of why the Americans want Diego Garcia. So the Brits and Americans come to a deal. Ship the inhabitants of the Chagos Islands off to Mauritius and make the people their problem, swap some dollar, ake it impossible for people to return, and then America put a huge army base on the island. Nice guys. Apart from the fact that the Diego Garcians now live in slums, and their Civil Rights have been grossly abused.  This is a true story. One that should be listened too.  This is at the heart of what theatre should be about; engaging audiences with issues that matter, educating people and stirring debate. Go see the play it offers so much more then I could possibly write about (prepare yourselves it has a long running time).

RANN NU DIEGO!

To learn more about the Chagos islands and the work of Cardboard Citizens follow the links:

http://www.cardboardcitizens.org.uk/p1.html

http://www.chagossupport.org.uk/