It’s been quite a while since my last blog post. This has been for many reasons, but mostly it’s because the human realm seems to have lost the plot of their current comedy show, it’s stopped being funny and the timing is all out. The players on stage right now are wandering in aimless circles and taking their cues from the loudest audience members, all of whom seem to be yelling the most absurd ideas, while the rest of us sit watching dumbfounded, waiting for it all to make sense again. I think the author of this play needs to go back to his original day job, this is not his forte. 

On the surface the whole world theatre seems to be teetering on a dangerous cliff edge, one more bad line and the whole show will fall into a tragic farce. The atmosphere is tense and fraught with danger, people are frightened, we are waiting for something to be thrown, let’s hope it’s nothing more serious than a few rotten tomatoes. I have a few squishy strawberries left on the allotment if we really feel the need to physically express ourselves. We, the audience, expect the post apocalyptic critical reviews on this to be vicious. 

The play has been on a while, we rejoin the action as a killer virus stalks the stage! Some folks don’t believe it’s real, while others are taking it so seriously they raid the shops for all they can carry and run, hell for leather, back to their abodes, to hold up until the plague passes. Onto the stage stride various politicians many of whom womble about the stage in confusion, either, looking to the audience and responding to their most outlandish suggestions, or shrugging their shoulders and scratching their …shall we say heads? The general populous sits staring in confusion.

At some point in the next scene… In an attempt to appease the audience’s growing unrest at the implausible plot lines they are being fed, they are told there will shortly be an interval, where they can/can’t leave the theatre, they can/can’t have a drink with their family/mates and that the merchandise stalls will be both open and shut, at which point everyone heads for the beach!

The interval is over and we return to our seats. The scene is now Mother Nature shaking her head and wringing her hands as she watches humankind, “an oxymoron if ever there was one” she thinks to herself. They seem utterly incapable of pulling themselves together or taking time out to reflect on their dreadful behaviours in previous scenes. Instead they continue to behave in a confused, angry and thoughtless fashion toward each other and the rest of the planet, mostly because it might cost a few bob and be inconvenient, or, more importantly, and far worse for the individuals concerned, invalidate an entire life/culture’s attitude and belief system. 

We empathise with Mother Nature as she clearly struggles, both with her conflicting emotions and trying to stop the words Entitled and Selfish resounding from her lips like Jacob’s Horn bringing down the walls of Jericho.

The plot is thickened when we learn events are being driven by a villainous character in the shape of a veiled and disturbing ghost in the machine, who seems to be everywhere at once inciting a surge toward right wing attitudes within everyday life. The politicians and media are in cahoots, making the most of people’s fears of change. 

It is all looking less like a comedy and more like a tragedy every minute. Who will save the day? Do we have a hero/heroin to save us from this terrible plot line? 

Someone have a word with the director, quick, before this all goes pear shaped! 

Finally, onto the stage the hero strides accompanied by their shield of righteous belief in spreading the word of Absolute ‘Political Correctness’. Tadaaah! Yay! The audience applauds.

Their cape flapping in the wind, our hero goes about the business of cleaning up society as a whole. Their weapon of choice? Why, berating the audience, all for the most laudable reasons of course. And so they unwittingly play right into the villain’s hands by becoming so ‘PC’ they end up terrifying the entire audience. 

Their sensibilities under attack some folks shout back at the hero, the hero responds louder. There are folk who become scared to move or speak for fear of causing offence. The whole audience is slowly divided, entrenched and angry. 

As the play moves from scene to scene the righteous hero becomes so hardline and broad sweeping in their condemnation of the audience, even folk who have been genuinely accepting of all walks of life, start to feel embattled and viewed as an enemy within. 

Still our hero rolls on uncomprehending of the growing troubles following in the wake of their zealous crusade. Meanwhile the real villain rubs their hands and snickers. 

There it is, the shocking moment when the plot twist is revealed! Dan, dan, daaaa!  

The unexpected accomplice to the villainous ghost in the machine, is actually our heartfelt hero! 

This is not funny, you are loosing your audience, do something!

Unaware of the divisive energetic being created in the world and genuinely wanting to be a voice for the unheard, the vulnerable and those who feel outcast, the hero becomes confused at the aggression coming back from the crowd. Despairing that things will ever change for the betterment of the earth as a whole our hero retreats to review their strategy. With a bit of distance they begin to see patterns emerging.  

There it is! Some of us in the audience start to see it too now, that creeping shadow weaving its way through the crowds, the real villain is emerging from the shadows. Does the hero see it? The beast is stirring things up, twisting words here and there, all to keep the audience divided and prevent the true message of the hero being heard.

Booo! Hisss! He’s behind you and all that….. 

Our hero sees it at last, how things are manipulated and twisted, but what can they do? How can they turn all this confusion back into a genuine call for people to come together and for everyone’s way of life to be accepted (an it harm none) and more importantly valued? How do they affect a deep-seated change in social attitudes without causing more alienation?

How can this play be saved from the future critics who will undoubtedly rip the writers a new one, all with the obvious benefits of hindsight, if they don’t get it right?

Mother Nature walks up behind our hero and whispers quietly in their ear and puts her hand on their shoulder to give a gentle nudge.

The hero steps falteringly to the edge of the stage and begins to speak, quietly at first, hardly audible above the din of the villain and the chaos he created by subtly distorting the language people speak and filling the theatre with hatred, denial and violence, driving the wedge deeper between us all. 

The hero’s voice carries above it all, like a hymn in a cathedral, rising in tempo and passion, a prayer of such heartfelt longing for all the ills of the world to be cured, by the simple remedy of love…….

What will the audience do? Will they hear the stirring words, open their hearts to each other and find joy in life’s diversity? Will they laugh at the absurdity of it all in the end and hug (when social distancing allows)? 

Who knows I will wait for tomorrows reviews. In the meantime I will be with all the heroes that step up to the edge, heart and soul, and leave you with the words of one of my favourites.

Carlie Chaplin says it all so well in this film. He was a comedian who understood that life, in all its glorious variations, is to be cherished. 

I may have posted this before, but for me it is one of the best speeches in art that reflect an eternal truth. It is being echoed now in so many places and has been echoed across time by so many great men and women. When people speak with such courage, passion and compassion about the many atrocious situations and attitudes the Earth and its inhabitants, of all the realms, across the globe have been subjected, many hearts are opened and things do change. 

So mote it be