Comment
Grenfell play packs a powerful punch
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November 2021
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www.fire–magazine.com
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“Grenfell was inextricably linked with race. It is the elephant in the room”
editing combines the Inquiry’s more dramatic moments with the technical minutiae that emerged from the many companies, expert witnesses and fire service operations to great effect. The end of the play is poignant and silent as the actors leave the stage; the names of the 72 people who died remain etched on the screen above. No bowing, no encore, just time to reflect on what has been said and remember those who died. This isn’t the first time that Richard Norton-Taylor has tackled a public inquiry; in 1999 he produced The Colour of Justice, taken from the Macpherson Inquiry into the killing of Stephen Lawrence. Norton-Taylor was the security and defence correspondent for The Guardian and in 2014 he wrote a piece about documentary theatre with the title: ‘Verbatim plays pack more punch than the papers’. He was right. Value Engineering does that and more, so go and see it. Value Engineering transfers to the Birmingham REP from November 16-20. www.grenfellvalueengineering. com
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clear that the invitation by lead counsel to the Inquiry, Richard Millet, to not indulge in a merrygo-round of buck-passing has not been accepted. These witnesses are in stark contrast with the statement from Leslie Thomas QC, counsel to a group of the bereaved, survivors and residents. He began with a quote from James Baldwin, who wrote about race and justice 50 years ago. Mr Thomas told the Inquiry: “Grenfell was inextricably linked with race. It is the elephant in the room.” The actors in Value Engineering are well chosen – they look and sound like the people who have spoken at the Inquiry. It’s odd to see the actress playing Barbara Lane appear without a wig or an Irish accent later as Claire Williams from the tenant management organisation. It is Claire Williams who confessed in October 2020 that she had ‘binned’ her notebooks rather than hand them over to the police after the fire. It’s a dramatic moment in the second half of the play. At two hours and 40 minutes long, Value Engineering is a big commitment not only in terms of time but in terms of emotional energy. Richard Norton-Taylor’s
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t feels a bit odd watching the Grenfell Tower Inquiry in a church hall in Notting Hill, not that far from Grenfell Tower. But, of course, it’s not the real Inquiry, it’s a group of actors playing the part of people involved in the Inquiry, speaking their words verbatim. The question is, why do it while the Inquiry continues its work not that far away in a building near Paddington station? One answer may be that not everyone follows the Inquiry closely and this is another way of sharing its important work. Richard Norton-Taylor and Nick Kent use the Inquiry transcripts to share what happened in the lead up to the Grenfell Tower fire on June 14, 2017 and its aftermath. They do not edit or embellish: the play is made entirely from spoken evidence that was given under oath to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry between November 2017 and March 2021. Had this play been fiction, it would have been barely believable, but it is fact, which is deeply depressing. Introducing the play, they write: ‘The intention
behind the play is to help the public get an overview of the Inquiry’s work and to hold the people and systems responsible for the tragedy to account’. The setting is simple: the stage looks like the Inquiry room. The Inquiry Chair, Sir Martin Moore-Bick, sits centre stage with the witness to one side and the legal counsel on the other. A large video screen looms above them all. Starting with Dr Barbara Lane and Dr Luke Bisby, the play provides the audience with an explanation of how the fire started and why the cladding aided the fire spread. The judicious use of photographs, video and audio illustrate the timeline of the fire from the first 999 call at 1254. The evidence of London Fire Brigade officers is an important reminder of the traumatic events that unfolded and NortonTaylor’s sensitive selection and handling of the experience of the residents is highly emotional and incredibly powerful. The title of the play, Value Engineering, is a term used to reduce costs in a build so that the same outcome is achieved but for less money. Part 2 of the Inquiry focused on the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower and the first mention of value engineering comes mid-way through the play, revealing the discussion about changing the cladding from zinc to the cheaper aluminium composite material, or ACM as it’s more commonly known. As representatives of each company involved in the refurbishment enter the stage to give their evidence, it becomes
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Political Editor Catherine Levin reviews Value Engineering, an evocative and hard-hitting play depicting the ongoing Grenfell Tower Inquiry