Burford
Author
Tony Diggle
Synopsis
The main action of the play is set the day after the Battle of Burford in May, 1649, which can be regarded as the lowest point of the English Civil War, itself brought on by the inadequate governance of Charles I. The play examines the "state of the nation" in terms of how bad things had got, how they might have got even worse, how even at this point dramatic improvements might have been made, and the compromises that actually occurred. The issues are examined through an imagined three-way dialogue at Burford between Gerrard Winstanley, a True Leveller, and the first man to produce a coherent socialist/communist programme, Oliver Cromwell, the face of the military might of a Parliament still representing the propertied and monied classes, and Thomas Fairfax, Lord General of the Parliamentary Army, Cromwell's superior at the time, and off the battlefield a quiet pragmatist who looked at politics very much as the art of the possible. The conclusion that emerges is that a vision of how things ought to be does not mean that a revolution will take place. The play concludes with the restoration of Charles II and much of the status quo. 15th May 1999 will be the 350th anniversary of the Battle of Burford. View extract.
Cast
8 male (including doubling)
Duration
40 mins
Contact
9 Cain Court
Castlebar Mews
Ealing
London
W5 1RY