Rachel Corrie was killed by a bulldozer trying to protect the homes of Palastinians - she was 23. This one-woman play was developed out of her diaries and emails by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner and is an incredibly powerful piece of writing. Taking us from her childhood in Olympia, Washington, through school and on to activism we are treated to the inner thoughts of a young woman coming to terms with the fact that the word is not always a good place - even though there are many good people in it.
Simply presented, this production works extremely well. Shannon Keogh, who plays Rachel, has a lot to get through, and at times seems to have to rush, but then again, the thoughts of the young often tumble over each other in their eagerness and she manages to get plenty of pace change and colour into her performance. Chelsey Gillard's direction keeps the whole thing real and personal as we move from a messy kid's bedroom to the chaos that was (and is) Rafah. Shannon's hold on the audience was amazing and the time flew by. I laughed, got angry and shed a tear. An impressive professional debut.
A powerful piece I shall not easily forget
