Girl Blog from Irag: Baghdad Burning
| 14 Aug 2006
I'm female, Iraqi and 24. I survived the war. That's all you need to know. It's all that matters these days anyway. So begins Baghdad Burning, the weblog of a young Iraqi known only as Riverbend, whose Internet journals form the basis of this new piece of verbatim theatre, exploring the reality of life in Iraq under American occupation.
The first hand narrative is compelling, and the dramatisation is subtle and to the point, as it condenses three years of Internet postings into an hour of powerful theatre. As the five actors dive in and out of different roles, the mood shifts from one of optimism and pity for the occupying forces to disgust and despair as individual freedoms are eroded and the death toll mounts.
However, what really resonates within this piece of theatre is that there is no happy ending, no satisfying catharsis to close the play and placate the audience. Instead, the play evolves to include the most recent posts made by Riverbend, a few days ago, in which she begins to wonder whether it is 'time to wash our hands of this country?' These final posts, which are simply read from a transcript of the blog, are in many ways the most powerful element of the performance, and are set to develop as Riverbend's blog progresses in the coming weeks.
This is an enthralling piece of theatre, which relies upon the eloquence of the script rather than cheap gimmicks and sensationalism to make its impact, which continues to resonate long after the lights go up.
The first hand narrative is compelling, and the dramatisation is subtle and to the point, as it condenses three years of Internet postings into an hour of powerful theatre. As the five actors dive in and out of different roles, the mood shifts from one of optimism and pity for the occupying forces to disgust and despair as individual freedoms are eroded and the death toll mounts.
However, what really resonates within this piece of theatre is that there is no happy ending, no satisfying catharsis to close the play and placate the audience. Instead, the play evolves to include the most recent posts made by Riverbend, a few days ago, in which she begins to wonder whether it is 'time to wash our hands of this country?' These final posts, which are simply read from a transcript of the blog, are in many ways the most powerful element of the performance, and are set to develop as Riverbend's blog progresses in the coming weeks.
This is an enthralling piece of theatre, which relies upon the eloquence of the script rather than cheap gimmicks and sensationalism to make its impact, which continues to resonate long after the lights go up.