The Bombing of the Grand Hotel
Cockpit Theatre, London NW8
3/5

“THIS is not about forgiveness, it’s about understanding,” asserts Jo Berry in The Bombing of the Grand Hotel.

That’s no insignificant statement — she’s the daughter of Tory MP Sir Anthony Berry, killed in the 1984 IRA bombing of the Brighton hotel which almost led to the demise of the then prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Despite its title, this largely verbatim new play by Wildspark Theatre chooses to rapidly dramatise the actual events and then to focus on how an unlikely understanding, and eventually friendship, was forged between Berry and bomber Pat Magee.

It’s a highly poignant story and one which could not be more salient at a time when “us v them” rhetoric increasingly clouds complex conflicts across the globe.

Yet while Julie Everton and Josie Melia’s jam-packed script tries valiantly to paint the wider picture, their attempts to do so result in an overly frantic first act in which, apart from Ruairi Monaghan’s earthy Magee, there’s insufficient room for character development.

This is particularly the case with Berry (Rachel Blackman), who comes across as an overly sentimental wishy-washy hippy, in marked contrast with the courageous and compassionate woman she’s later revealed to be.

A sequence of dream scenes in which her father sings nursery rhymes to her comes across as trivial and a more meaningful exploration of their relationship is absent.

But that’s certainly not the case in the interaction between Berry and Magee.

The scene in which they first meet is hugely powerful and conveys the difficulties of their reconciliation as much through silence as through dialogue.

Subtlety and stillness pervade the second act, which captures the humility of both characters and their actions beautifully.

At the conclusion, I couldn’t help but feel that Paul Hodson’s slickly directed production deserves a more thorough and cohesive script — despite its many merits, there seems to be a desire to limit the length of the piece.

There’s a potentially monumental piece of theatre here, struggling to emerge from what comes across as merely worthy dramatic intent.

Runs until May 2, box office: thecockpit.org.uk