Yesterday Was A Weird Day
This response to the London bombings of July 7 is not the product of a writer in traditional pursuit of a particular social agenda or artistic vision. Instead, Look Left Look Right has wholly structured this effective piece on a series of interviews with private individuals and public figures including Inayat Bangawald of the Muslim Council of Great Britain, MI5 renegade David Shayler and somewhat eerily, given Toby Manley’s credible portrayal – late MP and former cabinet minister Robin Cook...Read More »
War and Peace
BBC researchers Ben Freedman and Mimi Poskitt turned memories of the July 7 bombings into a stage play Compiled by Nuala Calvi In the aftermath of July 7, 2005 two BBC researchers started to collect the testimonies of people who were directly and indirectly affected by the London bombings, From the survivors who were in the carriages where the bombs exploded, to young Muslims living in London, Iraqi soldiers and anti-war politicians, Ben Freedman and Mimi Poskitt found scores of people willing to share their experiences of the day that change their lives...Read More »
The Young theatre company Look Left Look Right was extremely quick off the mark after last year’s London bombings.Within the month they had pulled together a show which they took up to the Edinburgh Festival. Now , all too appropriately, they are bringing it to the capital. ‘Yesterday Was a Weird Day’, which plays at the BAC, is a verbatim piece of drama, based on interviews with survivors, members of the emergency services, transport workers, the London Muslim community, prominent media figures and politicians, including one of the last ever interviews with Robin Cook. These recreated interviews are illustrated with video and audio material. The very nature of the piece makes it a continually evolving work, and audience members will be invited to contribute their own thoughts and experiences.
Yesterday Was A Weird Day - Look Left Look Right
This verbatim theatre piece created by Look Left Look Right is a response to the London bombings of July 7. It is so fresh that it isn’t even listed in the Fringe programme.Based on Interviews with Londoners from taxi drivers to former M15 agent David Shayler and politicians including the late Robin Cook, it is both immediate and reflective. The juxtapositions are fascinating; the point where people’s ordinary lives become caught up in events and become part of history. In this respect it is very moving. But it also scotches a few cheery Blitz-spirit myths along the way – a victim of one of the train bombings on his way home that evening still can’t persuade “the wankers to move down in the carriage” – as well as showing that prejudice and understanding stand shoulder to shoulder.
Simply staged, this is vivid and honest, made more transparent by the fact that the transcript of interviews is available in the foyer. - LYN GARDNER
Yesterday Was A Weird Day - Look Left Look Right
A play based on the stories of the survivors of last month’s London bombings is to be rushed out in time for the Edinburgh fringe.The show, Yesterday Was a Weird Day: Reflections on July 7, 2005, written by the Look Left, Look Right theatre company, explores the emotions of those caught up in the terrorist attacks in the capital. The writers of the play spoke to survivors, their friends and families and emergency workers as well as conducting interviews with politicians, including the late Robin Cook and George Galloway.
Mimi Poskitt and Ben Freedman, the play’s co-directors, claim that the play will allow the voices of the victims to be heard as well as offering an insight into the effects of the attack. With the backing of some of the survivors they interviewed, they are planning to give all the proceeds to the London Bombings Relief Fund, launched by Ken Livingstone. The fund has already raised £8m, which will go towards helping victims’ families. A spokeswoman for the fund welcomed the company’s decision to donate proceeds...
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