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Prolific British playwright Caryl Churchill is well known for writing  brilliant, complex, multi layered works. LIGHT SHINING IN BUCKINGHAM SHIRE is no exception. If you are looking for a comfortable, unchallenging ride in the theatre, steer well clear of this show!

Churchill’s play,  written back in  1976,  is set in London and pivots around the Civil War Putney Debates of 1647 when members of the New Model Army tried to set out a constitution. Mavericks, stroppy thinkers, Intellectuals, riff rafs and revolutionaries locked horns with each other. Then leader OliverCromwell was so frustrated at the time that he set up a committee to try and get some agreement, quite a novel approach at the time.

The play’s title is a reference to one  particular revolutionary Gerald Winstanley who wrote many pamphlets including,  now famously, entitled ‘Light Shining In Buckinghamshire’. I am sure that if Winstanley and his ilk were living now they would extensively be using social media get their messages across.

This Belvoir production, well directed by Eamon Flack and Hannah Goddwin, is running in repertory with Alana Valentine’s WAYSIDE BRIDE.

Damien Cooper’s superbly atmospheric lighting design was the  shining star of their creative team.

The cast featuring Arkia Ashraf, Marco  Chiappi, Rashidi Edward, Emily  Goddard, Sandy Greenwood, Rebecca Massey, Brandon  McClelland and  Angeline Penrith  were simply outstanding. 

Verdict. I have to say that the play dId my head in. This was a difficult non linear show. It is a genre, which some theatre makers love, but which I have difficulty with. Still as a portrait of a motley group of people coming together to try and make of a better, more democratic society, this is a very affecting experience.

LIGHT SHINING IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE is alternating in the upstairs Belvoir Street Theatre with WAYSIDE BRIDE. Performances run  until 28 May 2022.

https://belvoir.com.au/productions/light-shining-in-buckinghamshire-2/