Into the auditorium?

To Leeds tonight. M is watching How Many Miles to Basra? as part of her Royal Court 50 duties. I could go in and watch it but I'm not sure the subject matter and that type of theatre holds much appeal for unthinking, unfeeling me. The blurb explains: Southern Iraq 2003. Four soldiers, a journalist and their Iraqi translator set off on an unauthorised journey deep into the Iraqi countryside in a disastrous attempt to make amends for the deaths of some local men at a vehicle checkpoint. Doesn't sound like there'll be a whole barrel of laughs there. But then often the plays you don't fancy very much are the best. The alternative is to sit in the bar of the West Yorkshire Playhouse for a couple of hours, reading my book of the moment and staring at the other people who opted to sit this one out or just 'hang' in the foyer. My problem with overtly political theatre and work that attempts to stomp around on top of - rather than capture - the zeitgeist, is that I think that other documentary forms do it so much better in a shorter amount of time. But if I do opt out I might end up regretting it. As M says, I can always sneak in at the interval. Although I probably won't.

Tags: How Many Miles to Basra?, Iraq, Royal Court 50, West Yorkshire Playhouse