4X – 4 Short Plays

Nobody cares how or why it came to be that Ireland lost it all. The children seem happy, as they’ve never known a more fruitful time. To send them to school, to teach them to work, to raise them and guide them; these seem like alien concepts in today’s world. What would you teach them? The wisdom of books is outdated, the ethics of civilisation. Well, look where “civilisation” got us.

Caryl Churchill’s Seven Jewish Children is a short play written in response to the volatile political situation in Gaza in January 2009. The play consists of seven short scenes. In each scene, a group of Jewish adults discusses what to tell – and what not to tell – an unseen child to whom they are related. The lines are not attributed to characters; an opening stage direction makes it clear that ‘The lines can be shared out in any way you like… The characters are different in each small scene as the time and child are different. They may be played by any number of actors.’ The dialogue alludes indirectly to events in recent Jewish history, from the Holocaust and the creation of the state of Israel, to the building of the West Bank barrier and the Gaza War of 2008–09.

Johnny is a normal young fella until “The Voice” starts telling him to do silly things. None of these cause any real damage until he is convinced he has to take things into his own hands to help his friend. The consequences are devastating for many in his small town. A play about teenage life, love and Tesco.

Shakespeare’s bloodiest tragedy performed by five actors in half an hour. All of the blood, all of the guts, at break-neck speed.