GRENFELL: SYSTEM FAILURE: Scenes from the Inquiry (Modern Plays)

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GRENFELL: SYSTEM FAILURE: Scenes from the Inquiry (Modern Plays)

GRENFELL: SYSTEM FAILURE: Scenes from the Inquiry (Modern Plays)

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The production willhaveset design by Miki Jablkowska and Matt Eagland, lighting design by Matt Eagland, sound and video design by Andy Graham, costume design by Carly Brownbridge, casting by Amy Ball with community liaison from Suresh Grover, and production photography by Beresford Hodge. Based entirely on the words of those involved in the final phase of the Inquiry (December 2020 – July 2022), this new play interrogates why the testing regime failed to warn of the danger of installing inflammable materials, why manufacturers promoted such products with no regard to safety, why government regulations ignored the dangers and were not updated, and why politicians failed to ensure proper oversight. Through the testimonies of bereaved residents, it explores how they were failed by the London Fire Brigade on the night and abandoned by the Local Authority in the chaos of the fire’s aftermath. Described as a piece of documentary theatre, the play seeks answers to failures across the board at Grenfell, which led to the tragic deaths of 72 people. Richard Millett, the Inquiry’s main QC and Lead Counsel, notably said: “ Each and every one of the risks which eventuated at Grenfell Tower on that night were well known by many and ought to have been known by all who had any part to play. As a result, you will be able to conclude with confidence that each and every one of the deaths that occurred in Grenfell Tower on 14 June 2017 was avoidable. The reasons were many, complex, and in many cases, inextricably interlinked.”

Using testimonies of residents and their families, the play probes the role of the London Fire Brigade and local authorities on the night of the fire and during its chaotic aftermath. Based entirely on the words of those involved in the final phase of the Inquiry (which ended in November 2022), this new play interrogates why the testing regime failed to warn of the danger of installing inflammable materials, why manufacturers promoted such products with no regard to safety, why government regulations ignored the dangers and were not updated, and why politicians failed to ensure proper oversight. Through the testimonies of bereaved residents, it explores how they were failed by the London Fire Brigade on the night and abandoned by the Local Authority in the chaos of the fire’s aftermath. He conceded: “Had there been a functional enforcement system … non-compliance [with the building regulations] to the extent that gave rise to the Grenfell Tower tragedy may not have been possible.” Most recent productions: Playboy of the West Indies – the Musical at Birmingham Rep and Grenfell: Value Engineering at the Tabernacle and on Channel 4 television. A sequel to their other play on the Inquiry, Value Engineering, System Failure is a two-hour showcase of the bureaucratic inertia, chronic under-funding and ministerial arrogance that led to the loss of 72 lives in 2017."Grenfell: System Failure will tour to three West London venues: The Playground Theatre, The Tabernacle and the Marylebone Theatre, bringing the production closer to the communities affected by the tragedy than previously possible. Casting has been announced for the upcoming production of Grenfell: System Failure, a follow-up piece to 2021’s five-star staging of Grenfell: Value Engineering. This limited season is brought to the stage by the creative team responsible for Grenfell: Value Engineering at The Tabernacle, Birmingham Rep and on Channel 4, The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry – The Colour of Justice at the Tricycle Theatre, the National Theatre, in the West End and on BBC TV, and the Olivier Award-winning Saville Inquiry play, Bloody Sunday. System Failures‘ is an interesting title for the play and poses a question for the piece. Are the failings errors in the system or is it a system that facilitates negligence, corruption and malpractice? The piece follows on from Richard Norton-Taylor and Nicolas Kent’s previous collaborations which have covered similarly high-profile inquiries into Jimmy Saville, the murder of Stephen Lawrence and more recently the earlier stages of the Grenfell Inquiry. This piece is harsher earlier on, it wastes very little time in getting to the core of the issues, and casts a damning portrait of the many moving parts involved in the mistreatment and neglect of Grenfell residents, leading to their deaths. It is a disingenuous attempt to carry on their masquerade of innocence,” the bereaved families and survivors group said. “We know government knew about the deadly materials and the consequences, but covered up the risks. Let’s see how long their apology stands up against the evidence at the public inquiry in the coming weeks. No one should be exempt from accountability.”

After all, says this key government advisor on fire safety, “fire safety is a very subjective subject.” The play will enjoy a limited season from 18 February to 26 March 2023 and will tour three West London venues: The Playground Theatre (18 February–25 February), The Tabernacle (27 February–12 March), and Marylebone Theatre (14 March–26 March). Ron Cook, a terrier of an actor, gets his teeth into squirming and stonewalling witnesses, quoting damning group chats (“all we do is lie in here”) or insisting that “science was secretly perverted for financial gain”. Regulators, research bodies, government – all swerve apology or responsibility until pressed." Your support changes lives. Find out how you can help us help more people by signing up for a subscriptionHe has collaborated with Nicolas Kent on eight verbatim plays on Trials and Public Inquiries: Half the Picture -the Scott Arms to Iraq Inquiry, The Colour of Justice -the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, Nuremberg, Justifying War - The Hutton Inquiry. All his theatre work has been published; much of it broadcast on BBC TV or Radio. He won a Time Out award in 1993 and an Olivier award in 2005. And – just before the interval – after the audience heard the story of the life and death of Mohamed “Saber” Neda, I turned to see the two women sitting behind me openly sobbing. As for Arconic, according to The Guardian, “a lawyer representing the firm... said the company was the victim of an agenda. The company considers the sale of the cladding was lawful and permitted by the regulations at the time.” The architect who wrote the report on the cladding fire that killed six people in Lakanal house in 2009 recalls telling this fire advisor that as things stood, “another fire like Lakanal was inevitable (with the) death toll likely to be ten-to twelve times… the Lakinal fire.” To which, according to the architect, the man upon whom our safety depends, replied with the words, “where’s the evidence? Show me the bodies." This means the story of how an “entirely avoidable” disaster was allowed to kill 72 people is still known by far too few.

Grenfell: System Failure tours to three West London venues: The Playground Theatre, The Tabernacle and The Marylebone Theatre, from 18 February – 26 March 2023. Based entirely on the words of those involved in the final phase of the Inquiry (which ended in November 2022), this new play interrogates why the testing regime failed to warn of the danger of installing inflammable materials, why manufacturers promoted such products with no regard to safety, why government regulations ignored the dangers and were not updated, and why politicians failed to ensure proper oversight. Through the testimonies of bereaved residents, it explores how they were failed by the London Fire Brigade on the night and abandoned by the Local Authority in the chaos of the fire's aftermath. The firefighters never reached the 23rd floor. At 2AM with the fire spreading, they made a decision to try and make their way downstairs. Saber sent his son and wife ahead. Grenfell: System Failure will tour to three West London venues: The Playground Theatre (18 February – 25 February), The Tabernacle (27 February – 12 March) and Marylebone Theatre (14 March – 26 March), bringing the production closer to the communities affected by the tragedy, than previously possible. The man further up the line at the BRE was “the lead consultant… on matters related to fire safety.” He was also seconded to a government department 50% of the time, becoming the person giving government policy advice on building regulations.Following last year's critically acclaimed production Grenfell: Value Engineering, Grenfell: System Failure asks further vital questions raised at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry in the last eighteen months.

Questioning is led by Richard Millett, counsel to the inquiry. Ron Cook, a terrier of an actor, gets his teeth into squirming and stonewalling witnesses, quoting damning group chats (“all we do is lie in here”) or insisting that “science was secretly perverted for financial gain”. Regulators, research bodies, government – all swerve apology or responsibility until pressed.It’s a testament to the respect that the disaster is accorded by this work and by this community. These performances take place in venues within walking distance of the tragedy. I pass a twin to the tower on the way to the theatre. Grenfell’s shadow hangs over North Kensington, literally and figuratively. But is that enough to make compelling theatre? Yes and no. When I saw the first part, ‘Grenfell: Value Engineering’ , nearly 18 months ago, I felt the bleak staging and washed-out performances perfectly suited the inevitably gruelling material. This was an emotive catastrophe staged in the driest possible way to make its point: 72 people died at Grenfell to make some costs spreadsheets look healthier. Those people were betrayed by sub-par materials, engineering and attitudes. Peter Apps is Deputy editor of Inside Housing and author of Show Me the Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen



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