Protagonists, The

Brenda Chamberlain's theatrical reaction to the Greek ‘Colonels' Coup’ of 1967 makes its way at long last into publication. A resident of or visitor to Greece since the early 1960s, Chamberlain returned to Greece in April 1967, three days before the coup which left the country in the control of a repressive military junta. The Protagonists opened in October 1968. Chamberlain wrote the play in three weeks, the words coming not from her but from voices overheard, the voices of the people along the harbour-side or sitting outside the café. The play is many things, but I think it best to describe it as a reaction – an outcry, a call for attention to be paid. Its parallels with the plight of those imprisoned or exiled by the Greek authorities are legion, seen throughout in its repeated themes: of permits, visas, loudspeaker announcements and the threat of summary execution for the most minor of infractions. And the setting – an island prison, and imprisoned upon it the desperate exiles. This edition's greatest strength is the way in which it immerses the reader not only in the play but in the background and the production. The text we are given has a great strength, that it has been put onto the page as an annotated script, a script used during production – and as a result of the crossings out and changes that any production will involve, we can see the play as it was staged on those evenings in October. The book also comes replete with some very useful sketches and diagrams of the staging – some contemporary and some based on the recollections of Alan McPherson, an actor in the original performances who has lent his memories (and script) to the play's first publication. Through this, we are as close as possible to the stage itself. The sketches are Chamberlain's and give us something more – a glimpse at what she saw for her production, dark and minimalist, with a bleak set featuring starkly realised scenery to surround its characters. And so, all these years later, we see the production re-born in print, as close as it can be to the writer's original vision – something for which the editor and contributors deserve praise. -- Alex Gilbey @ www.gwales.com