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It starts with a suicide; an act that cuts straight to the heart of our dilemma: how the men and women who fight Britain's wars are scarred and damaged by the experience. Reflecting a tragedy in the author's personal history, The China Vase is dedicated to the memory of Peter Kavanagh, the writer's brother who committed suicide at the age of 19 while serving in the British army in Northern Ireland. From the fields of the Somme to the streets of Iraq, the foundation of our fighting forces have always been working class men, sent to fight fort a society that paradoxically regards them as among the least valuable and most troublesome when out of uniform. Spanning three wars this play unflinchingly questions the sacrifice servicemen are asked to make. A study in the psychology of the frontline and an exploration of how the unforgiving and unbending structure of the forces takes its toll on the very humanity of those within it, The China Vase is laden with tension and tragedy as the inevitable unfolds. It should be seen by everyone open enough to reappraise their view of history.

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2006 (1 listings)