Chapter, Cardiff
Sat 4 March
When Howard Brenton’s Romans in Britain was first staged at the National Theatre in 1980, its bloody violence, copious swearing and explicit depiction of rape triggered a fierce prosecution from the head morality campaigner Mary Whitehouse for gross indecency. Whilst her side didn’t win, it’s only been staged once since, and it’s great to see Everyman’s brave choice of production has in no way compromised the controversial bite of the original. It can only be assumed that the empty seats in the second half were due to more sensitive Time Team fans who had booked tickets based on the title alone, as the full cast gave exceptionally strong performances with bold and creative direction.
The play is set in three periods of Britain in chaos: the Roman invasion of Britain in 54 BC; in 515 AD shortly after the Roman Empire had left Britain, which plunged the native British civilization into a kind of post-apocalyptic turmoil; and 1980 during the British Army’s occupation of Northern Ireland.
In each period the audience is introduced to a wealth of characters in a Britain dominated by invasion, bloodshed and unrest and they can only watch on as the wider political events violently close in on individuals who are helplessly trying to get on with their lives. Each timeline interweaves beautifully with the others, culminating in a rogue British officer standing in a field in Ireland, plagued with violent visions of the past and an unbearable desire for peace in the future.
Whilst the 1980 portion of the play has understandably lost the original intended immediacy in the proceeding 37 years, it has now joined the other two periods as an important segment of British history, and far from dating the play has perhaps given it a transformed meaning more powerful than the original. The overall message of the play is that mankind needs to learn from its mistakes and start being kinder to each other, and in the year following 2016 perhaps this play is more relevant than ever. If you can, make sure you see this production when it runs again in Swansea in April.
words STEPHEN SPRINGATE