Details

It is the first year of World War II, and in Whitehall two emigre Jewish scientists are waiting for a meeting to get the British establishment to take their nuclear research seriously. The following plays then trace the history of Attlee's Labour party wrestling with the decision to build the Atomic Bomb, the Cuban missile crisis from a Russian perspective, China's war with India and the subsequent development of India's bomb, the break-up of the Soviet Union and the unilateral disarmament of Ukraine. A contemporary take on the non-proliferation debate looking at Israel and Iran s nuclear capability, the "axis of evil" speech and its affect on North Korea, the U.K. s continuing reliance on Trident in the post Cold War era, through to the current negotiations with Iran and weapons inspections there. The SECOND BLAST is part of THE BOMB - a partial history which is a season of plays in two parts and can be seen on consecutive nights or on an afternoon and evening over the weekend.

Creatives/Company

Author(s): Zinnie Harris, Ron Hutchinson, Lee Blessing, Amit Gupta, John Donnelly, Colin Teevan (There Was a Man There Was No Man), Diana Son (Axis), Ryan Craig (Talk Talk Fight Fight), David Greig (The Letter of Last Resort), Zinnie Harris (From Elsewhere: On the Watch)
Producer(s): Tricycle Theatre, Zoe Ingenhaag (associate producer)
Director: Nicolas Kent
Design(s): Polly Sullivan, Douglas O'Connell (video)
Lighting: Howard Harrison
Sound: Tom Lishman
Other: Jack Bradley (dramaturg)