Nottingham Playhouse Theatre presents "The Families of Lockerbie"

[What follows is from a report on the Guide2Nottingham website.]

It is now nine months since the release of the one man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi left Greenock Prison on the 20th August 2009, freed on compassionate grounds to die in his native Libya. There he received a hero’s welcome and remains manifestly alive, reportedly hard at work on a TV documentary putting his side of the story.

With each passing day the Scottish government’s decision to free al-Megrahi is called further into question. Now Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company presents a new play by award-winning writer and docudrama pioneer Michael Eaton which is set to cast dramatic new light on the families of the bombing’s 270 victims and their long quest for justice. ‘The Families Of Lockerbie’ pays tribute to their enduring love and fortitude, but also reflects the agonising rift between those who condemn al-Megrahi’s release as an outrage – and those who maintain that he should never have been found guilty at all. Featuring Robert Benfield, Joan Moon, Jennifer Woodward and David Beckford as a multitude of figures both real and fictional.

Over 21 years since Pan Am Flight 103 blew to pieces above the Scottish town of Lockerbie, the repercussions of the blast continue to make headlines. The freeing of the so-called Lockerbie bomber, based on medical advice that he had under three months left to live, has only intensified the controversy. The months since Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill’s decision have been marked by a damaging row between the UK and USA; a BBC Newsnight investigation casting fresh doubt on his trial; a general election in which First Minister Alex Salmond appeared compromised by the release; and continued allegations that it was motivated not by compassion but by the prospect of lucrative new contracts with Libya. Now the nine-month anniversary has brought reports that al-Megrahi is himself collaborating on a TV documentary designed to establish his innocence.

But above all, the moment he walked free opened a new chapter in the continuing ordeal of the relatives of the 270 who died. ‘The Families of Lockerbie’ dramatises their differing responses. On the day of al-Megrahi’s release, a television interviewer (David Beckford) gathers together in his studio three people bereaved by the bombing. Laura (Jennifer Woodward) is the widow of a US Marine; Maureen (Joan Moon) and Geoffrey (Robert Benfield) are the parents of a promising young musician who also lost his life over Lockerbie. It emerges that they are no strangers: back in December 1988 they forged a firm bond in the trauma and confusion of the immediate aftermath. However, that bond has been tested almost to destruction by the developments of the two decades since.

Maureen, Geoffrey and Laura are wholly fictional creations, but broadly representative of what are perhaps the dominant opinions on each side of the Atlantic. In the United States, the victims’ relatives largely view al-Megrahi’s release as a grievous insult to the memories of their loved ones; in the United Kingdom, many argue that his conviction was a gross miscarriage of justice. Some have even campaigned on al-Megrahi’s behalf. Charting the key developments since 1988 with scrupulous care and clarity, ‘The Families of Lockerbie’ explores all the drama of this division without seeking to condemn either point of view. Instead it powerfully documents the angry and anguished search for justice that unites all the families of Lockerbie to this day, wherever they may direct that anger.

"The Families of Lockerbie" is at the Playhouse from Thursday 10 - Saturday 19 June.

[I am grateful to the Communications Officer of the Nottingham Playhouse for sending me the full text of the press release relating to this production. It reads as follows:]

LOCKERBIE PLAY DRAMATISES 21-YEAR BATTLE FOR JUSTICE

It is now nine months since the release of the one man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing. Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi left Greenock Prison on the 20th August 2009, freed on compassionate grounds to die in his native Libya. There he received a hero’s welcome and remains manifestly alive, reportedly hard at work on a TV documentary putting his side of the story.

With each passing day the Scottish government’s decision to free al-Megrahi is called further into question. Now Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company presents a new play by award-winning writer and docudrama pioneer Michael Eaton which is set to cast dramatic new light on the families of the bombing’s 270 victims and their long quest for justice. THE FAMILIES OF LOCKERBIE pays tribute to their enduring love and fortitude, but also reflects the agonising rift between those who condemn al-Megrahi’s release as an outrage – and those who maintain that he should never have been found guilty at all. Featuring Robert Benfield, Joan Moon, Jennifer Woodward and David Beckford as a multitude of figures both real and fictional, THE FAMILIES OF LOCKERBIE is directed by Nottingham Playhouse’s Artistic Director Giles Croft and runs from Thursday 10 to Saturday 19 June (Box Office: 0115 941 9419 or www.nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk).

Over 21 years since Pan Am Flight 103 blew to pieces above the Scottish town of Lockerbie, the repercussions of the blast continue to make headlines. The freeing of the so-called Lockerbie bomber, based on medical advice that he had under three months left to live, has only intensified the controversy. The months since Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill’s decision have been marked by a damaging row between the UK and USA; a BBC Newsnight investigation casting fresh doubt on his trial; a general election in which First Minister Alex Salmond appeared compromised by the release; and continued allegations that it was motivated not by compassion but by the prospect of lucrative new contracts with Libya. Now the nine-month anniversary has brought reports that al-Megrahi is himself collaborating on a TV documentary designed to establish his innocence.

But above all, the moment he walked free opened a new chapter in the continuing ordeal of the relatives of the 270 who died. THE FAMILIES OF LOCKERBIE dramatises their differing responses. On the day of al-Megrahi’s release, a television interviewer (David Beckford) gathers together in his studio three people bereaved by the bombing. Laura (Jennifer Woodward) is the widow of a US Marine; Maureen (Joan Moon) and Geoffrey (Robert Benfield) are the parents of a promising young musician who also lost his life over Lockerbie. It emerges that they are no strangers: back in December 1988 they forged a firm bond in the trauma and confusion of the immediate aftermath. However, that bond has been tested almost to destruction by the developments of the two decades since.

Maureen, Geoffrey and Laura are wholly fictional creations, but broadly representative of what are perhaps the dominant opinions on each side of the Atlantic. In the United States, the victims’ relatives largely view al-Megrahi’s release as a grievous insult to the memories of their loved ones; in the United Kingdom, many argue that his conviction was a gross miscarriage of justice. Some have even campaigned on al-Megrahi’s behalf. Charting the key developments since 1988 with scrupulous care and clarity, THE FAMILIES OF LOCKERBIE explores all the drama of this division without seeking to condemn either point of view. Instead it powerfully documents the angry and anguished search for justice that unites all the families of Lockerbie to this day, wherever they may direct that anger.

Renowned for his sensitive dramatisations of the human stories behind current headlines, writer Michael Eaton is no stranger to this particular atrocity. Twenty years ago he dramatised the lead-up to the bombing for television in Why Lockerbie? His TV script, based on the apparent certainty at that time that the bombers were Palestinian, ended at the moment the plane disappeared from an air traffic control screen. In his research then, Eaton met several of the victims’ families and was struck by the unity of purpose they shared. But as the focus of the investigation shifted to Libya and a contentious trial ensued, the dramatist observed that unity fracture, frequently along national lines, and a lid lift on the way the world works. Opening at the same fateful moment of Flight 103’s disappearance from the radar, THE FAMILIES OF LOCKERBIE takes up the story in the present.

Michael Eaton MBE is an acclaimed playwright and screenwriter and a leading figure in the establishment of the drama-documentary genre. As well as Why Lockerbie?, his actuality-based TV scripts include Shoot to Kill and Shipman. He won Best Screenplay in the 1990 Evening Standard British Film Awards for Fellow Traveller and has also written fictional screen dramas including Signs and Wonders and scripts for Heartbeat and New Street Law. Eaton lives in Nottingham and his theatre work includes two previous dramas for Nottingham Playhouse, The Leaves of Life and Angels Rave On.

True-life stories are also a frequent feature of the work of director Giles Croft, Nottingham Playhouse’s Artistic Director. His productions there include: To Reach the Clouds, a stage retelling by Nick Drake of high-wire walker Philippe Petit’s World Trade Centre exploits which preceded the Oscar-winning film Man on Wire; The White Album, Michael Pinchbeck’s kaleidoscopic play encompassing the creation of the Beatles album and the Manson Family killings; and Jonathan Holloway’s dramas Because It’s There, recounting the true story of Mallory & Irvine, and Angels Among the Trees, about the Donner Party.

THE FAMILIES OF LOCKERBIE marks the second time that real-life husband and wife Robert Benfield and Joan Moon have played a married couple at Nottingham Playhouse, after appearing as Dr & Mrs Bradman in Giles Croft’s production of Blithe Spirit last year. Separately, they have also acted there in Chicken Soup with Barley and The Burial at Thebes respectively. Based in nearby Ilkeston, David Beckford appeared at the Playhouse in To Reach the Clouds, while his many credits for Northern Broadsides include last year’s acclaimed West End transfer of Othello with Lenny Henry. Making her debut with Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company, Jennifer Woodward is an American-born actor and writer whose credits include the West End production of The Lady from Dubuque as well as an appearance in Sex & the City.

Designer Nathan Rose has designed a striking TV studio set which subtly incorporates a visual reminder of the downed plane. Head of the Playhouse’s Props department, Rose is joined on the production by an in-house team of Karl Bock as AV Designer and Drew Baumohl as Sound Designer. Music is composed by Jonathan Girling, lighting is by Alexandra Stafford, the Voice Coach is Sally Hague and additional research is by Gareth Morgan.