Camden New Journal - Theatre: WHEN DO WE START FIGHTING?

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The Review - THEATRE by DAN McCORMICK
Published: 12 February 2009

A timely reminder of call to lay down arms

WHEN DO WE START FIGHTING?
Courtyard Theatre

THE Weathermen were a group of late 1960s- early 1970s American radicals who strongly opposed the US invasion of Vietnam and sought to destroy the systems they perceived as oppressive in their own country.
Their name was taken from the track Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan, who was hero of the new left and counter culture movement at the time.
It is no surprise then that the play makes no fewer than four references to Dylan’s oeuvre, which works best during a rousing rendition of Maggie’s Farm.
The play gives a balanced political account; the revolutionaries are not depicted as heroes but instead are seen as idealistic young men and women who don’t necessarily come across as particularly likeable.
A torture scene could have been extremely harrowing, but the lack of empathy one felt for the characters deprived the moment of any significant dramatic potential.
Matthew Judd as Mark had an intensity that meant his long monologues were never monotonous – even if his accent was not so subtlety lifted from Goodfellas.
The play had its faults but it was also engaging and the actors performed with energy – the passion of their characters ultimately shone through.
It’s worth seeing just for the reminder that active political movements were once
a consolidating focus for the young and disenchanted. And, with “our boys” still active in Iraq and Afghanistan, it might be again soon.
Until March 1
0870 163 0717

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