As Ed Sheeran navigates choppy political waters on his American tour, Greenwich Theatre artistic director James Haddrell is bringing a one-woman show linked to the same Israeli-Palestinian conflict from September 29 to October 18.
My Name is Rachel Corrie, featuring Cassie Bradley and directed by Haddrell, tells the true story of a young American activist killed by an Israeli bulldozer while attempting to defend a Palestinian home in Gaza.
‘It’s an inspiring story – and all the more inspiring because Rachel is so relatable.’ said James ‘She was a young woman who couldn’t ignore injustice once she’d seen it, but she also battled with her own challenges – the distractions of everyday life.
‘These varied from fashion magazines versus writing in her journals; chasing boys or chasing causes; loving home against the giant pull of overseas issues.
‘She was enraged by American politics and American foreign policy, but in the very real way that anyone is when they first start to grapple with a host of new and complex ideas. Her diaries show that – her everyday challenge to understand more.’
Rachel Corrie was committed to writing – a diarist, poet and compulsive list maker. ‘The show reveals the urgency of that,’ says James, ‘her need to document in words the things she saw.
‘The message is important, as it’s often misunderstood by people who haven’t seen the show. This isn’t an anti-Semitic piece that champions all Palestinians at the expense of all Israelis.
‘Rachel herself wrote: “It's important to draw a firm distinction between the policies of Israel as a state, and Jewish people. That's kind of a no-brainer.”
‘This is a piece about rage and injustice, commitment and fear, and the feeling of impotence in the face of huge opposition, and about joy and determination and challenging our definition of a hero. Rachel was utterly normal and utterly extraordinary at the same time.’
The show is a collection of Rachel’s own writing – diaries, letters, emails, lists, doodles – which were collated into a one-woman show by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner.
James said: ‘I’ve worked with Cassie Bradley before – we collaborated on a revival of the Nick Payne play One Day When We Were Young at the Park Theatre. She’s an astonishing actor – a real chameleon.
‘For that show she had to play the same character as a teenager, in middle age and in her seventies. She approached me and asked whether I’d come across this play and whether I fancied directing her in the show.
‘I knew about it already – it premiered at the Royal Court in 2005 and has been revived countless times since around the world. Cassie is a very busy actor – she’s even in the Hollywood release Practical Magic 2 which just came out – but luckily our diaries aligned and here we are.
‘I couldn’t be happier to be working on this show with her. We’ve read about the Ed Sheeran issues – and in general about conflicting views in the US.
‘In this country there doesn’t seem to be quite the division that’s evident in America. My sense is that the vast minority of people here are either pro-Palestinian freedom or not engaged with the conflict.
‘That said, Nigel Farage does seem to have aligned himself with Israel, but I suspect that’s more about an alignment with the Trump administration than any considered political stance on the conflict itself.
‘Trump’s conduct has really polarised people, and over the decades the US government has navigated its way through an uneasy balance between the peace process, support for Israel and support for displaced Palestinians, with shifting priorities depending on who is in power.
‘Trump has consistently eroded support for Palestinians and seems to have taken a very clear view on the conflict – and it’s that kind of polarising view that led to accusations that our show is anti-Semitic.
‘It’s possible to separate the ideologies of governments and the people affected by those ideologies, but that truth gets lost.’
As for the theatre itself, James said: ‘It’s been going from strength to strength in recent years. This year alone we’ve produced shows at the Park Theatre, Southwark Playhouse and King’s Head Theatre as well as here in Greenwich.
‘We’ve won awards for our immersive production of Jim Cartwright’s TWO – a beautiful love letter to British pub culture – and for our pantomime, which won both Best Panto and Best Panto Script, and national pantomime awards.
‘We have a relatively new executive director in post – James Turner – and it feels like together we are steering the theatre towards an exciting future.
‘Plans are already in place to follow Rachel Corrie with two more high profile shows staged in the studio. We’ve got our eyes on an outside location for a summer show next year, and our community and family work is about to be reinvigorated, alongside a host of improvements to the building. It’s a good time to be at Greenwich Theatre!’
