Thirty-seven links in the chain of command

Daniel Nelson

Shrapnel: 34 Fragments Of A Massacre

Image by Arcola Theatre

In fact, because Playwright Anders Lustgarten is interested in the political and economic systems that lead to conflict and suffering and not  simply pointing the finger at a particular leader or government, he shows us not just two cogs in the chain – a perpetrator and a target - but a variety of operators and victims, from the scientists and engineers who think about their gardens and holidays as they tinker with their ever-deadlier devices to the relatives and friends who duck out of a potentially hazardous journey and  encourage a fellow villager to undertake the trip instead.

Few of the links in this human chain are straightforwardly reprehensible, but together their actions lead to mass killing: a 2011 drone strike that obliterates a group of Kurdish diesel smugglers, “collateral victims” of the “war on terror”.

The death toll of 34 is reflected in the 34 scenes: “I want to give a voice to those 34 people," says Lustgarten.

He does – and in doing so makes us realise how seldom we are shown the human beings on the receiving end of our military actions, as well as how seldom we question the degree of responsibility we should take for actions that individually look harmless but cumulatively may be lethal.

At the same time, he knows how to be entertaining – in the sense of compelling, because his rapid sequences are by turns tragic, funny, pointed and moving.

Worth seeing – and thinking about.

* Shrapnel: 34 Fragments of a Massacre is at the Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin Street, E8, until 2 April. Info: 7503 1646

+ http://oneworld.org/2015/03/05/staging-a-massacre/ Staging a massacre

+ Lustgarten’s next play, Lampedusa, runs at the Soho Theatre, Dean Street, on 8-26 April