WHEN then rising political star Enoch Powell delivered his infamous ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech in 1968, not in Parliament but in Birmingham (at Conservative HQ just up the road from the REP as it happens), he unleashed the ‘Racist Genie from the bottle’ like no words before or after.
On his ‘Birmingham Speech’ and Powell himself, you leave the theatre with a changed opinion and with more questions than answers.
That speech cost him his political career (Edward Heath sacked him immediately as shadow defence secretary) and the possibility of being a memorable Prime Minister.
You get the impression he said what he said with more naivety than malice and that he felt he had to be the voice of a country worried about being swamped by immigration – because he was not only a politician who’s duty it was to represent his constituents and raise their concerns but also he was an academic, a historian and a Latin and Greek scholar who felt his intellect and vision should be treated as a third eye.
Was he then possibly insane? Maybe you wouldn’t go that far but he was definitely on that fine borderline twixt greatness and madness.
Roxana Silbert directs ‘What Shadows’ with a delicate paintbrush not a heavy trowel – so much so I felt some scenes dragged out unnecessarily whilst others added clever value both visually and verbally.
Taking 30 minutes off the running time would to me be a bonus.
The design by Ti Green of real trees set on a real lake with real water and the constant clever use of projection was simply brilliant.
Ian McDiarmid’s portrayal of Enoch Powell is quite brilliant, never falling into caricature and very three-dimensional as was his aging process and onset of Parkinson’s disease.
The whole company played multiple roles with conviction and passion.
Brid Brennan as Powell’s wife Pamela, George Costigan as his friend the editor of the Wolverhampton Express and Star and Paula Wilcox as his wife Marjorie embraced the opportunity to develop their characters chronologically.
It is strong and thought provoking stuff and will surely go on to enjoy a West End future.
Euan Rose
