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by
James Graham
Finborough
Theatre 2006
Director:
Gemma Fairlie. Set designer: Alex Marker. Costume designer: Nell
Knudsen. Lighting designer: Matt Peel. Sound designer: Steve Mayo.
Choreography: Lynne Page. Producer: Marie Bobin
Starring:
Daisy Beaumont, Michael Kirk, Hayward Morse, Jamie Newall, Nigel
Pegram, Ted Pleasance, Kevin Quarmby, Selva Rasalingham
Press
'The torn, faded map of Europe that underscores Alex Marker's
elegant design subtly evokes the radical shift in world power
that Eden was so comprehensively unable to navigate in the aftermath
of World War II.' Lucy Powell, Time Out
'...design,
performance and casting that would not disgrace the West End.'
Carole Woddis, Rogues and Vagabonds
'Director Gemma Fairlie keeps her actors whizzing on and off Alex
Marker's neat set...' Fiona Mountford, Evening Standard
'Gemma Fairlie's
polished production, too, utilises every nook and cranny of Alex
Marker's clever set to create a dark, shadowy atmosphere epitomised
by its huge leather-buttoned club chairs situated at the four
corners like sentinels of a dying Empire or the Allies four-quartered,
partitioned Berlin.' Carole Woddis, Rogues and Vagabonds
'Gemma Fairlie's
fast-moving production, with political manoeuvring rendered literally
in elegant quicksteps, Alex Marker's economical design and a versatile
cast led by Jamie Newall as the sick and disappointed Eden, Kevin
Quarmby as a Machiavellian Macmillan, Selva Rasalingham as Nasser
and Daisy Beaumont as ultra-loyal Clarissa Eden serve the play
well.' Heather Neill, The Stage
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Unlike
James's previous play, which contained six clearly-defined scenes
taking place over a short time period, Eden's Empire commences
with the fall of Nazism in 1945 and moves, often with great speed,
across the ensuing decade to the Suez war and beyond. The play
charts the rise and fall of the ill-fated British Prime Minister
Anthony Eden; it also follows Britain's last attempt to assert
its Imperial might, opposing Nasser's nationalisation of the Suez
Canal in 1956. This misjudged military campaign - and embarrassing
climb-down for Britain - resulted in Eden's resignation.
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