PRESENTED BY NICK OF TIME PRODUCTIONS LTD
IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE PLAYGROUND THEATRE PRESENTS
The Birmingham Repertory Theatre will present a not-for-profit production about the Grenfell Inquiry from Tue 16 to Sat 20 November 2021.
Grenfell: Value Engineering – Scenes from The Inquiry sets out to discover why the devastating fire of 14 June 2017 happened and who was responsible for the deaths of 72 people.
The dramatic evidence, based entirely on the words of those involved in the current Grenfell Tower Inquiry, is brought to the stage by the creative team responsible for the dramatisation of The Colour of Justice – The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry in the West End and on BBC TV, and the Olivier Award-winning Saville Inquiry play, Bloody Sunday.
The play’s editor Richard Norton-Taylor said: “Grenfell Tower, engulfed in flames in less than half an hour in the deadliest fire in a residential building since the Blitz, the worst loss of life in a single incident in London for more than 60 years, was still smouldering when survivors and families of the bereaved demanded a wide-ranging public inquiry into a disaster they had warned was waiting to happen.
The former appeal court judge heading the inquiry is unlikely to report his conclusions before well into next year, but what already has emerged is an extraordinary catalogue of greed, fraud, cheating and lying, secret fixing of fire tests, subtle layers of corruption and racism, fatal cost-cutting, casual indifference, and practices which one young company executive called “completely unethical”.
The evidence in the Grenfell Inquiry reflects many of the problems deeply embedded in contemporary British society. I believe that presenting it to a theatre audience will lead to a wider understanding of the story behind a fire whose repercussions will be felt for many years.”
Director Nicolas Kent said: “The Grenfell Tower Inquiry is vitally important in getting to the truth and holding to account those who were responsible for the disastrous refurbishment of the Tower… We are grateful to bring this dramatisation of the Grenfell Inquiry to the community so that they are able to share the forensic work of the inquiry and better understand the truth behind this avoidable tragedy.”
The Grenfell Inquiry has been running for four years and one of the most important public inquiries of the past two decades. The edited verbatim account of the inquiry is aimed at giving the public a clearer overview and access to the evidence.
Sean Foley, Artistic Director of The REP comments: “I am proud that this will be the only presentation of the play outside London, and passionately believe that this work will contribute to a wider understanding amongst the public of the unsafe cladding scandal. The REP has a strong history in producing and presenting challenging works of theatre, and I believe that Grenfell: Value Engineering – Scenes from The Inquiry will add significantly to public debate in our great City”.
Grenfell: Value Engineering – Scenes from The Inquiry plays at The REP from 16-20 November 2021. Tickets for the not-for-profit play are £15 - £30. Priority tickets will go on sale from Fri 9 July 2021 at birmingham-rep.co.uk, and general tickets on Tues 13 July 2021.
Ticket prices include a £3 donation, split between The Grenfell Foundation and local Birmingham cladding action groups. There are also 25x £5 tickets available at every performance for people currently living in tower blocks with unsafe cladding.
In line with current Government regulations, The REP continues to take a number of carefully managed steps and precautions to help audiences feel safe and enjoy their chosen performance. The theatre has introduced a series of new safety measures such as socially distanced seating, hand sanitising stations, temperature checks and additional cleaning. More information can be found at birmingham-rep.co.uk.
