Destiny Poster
Against the the panorama of 30 years – from Indian on the eve of independence in 1947 to a savage West Midlands by-election in 1976 – Edgar traces the complicated strands of political power-broking, betrayal and compromise in a brilliant account of the rise of the far right in Britain.
David Edgar’s award winning play was first produced by the RSC in 1976/1977, it chronicled not only when but where, how and why the English began to hate.
Chris Bond was Artistic Director of Half Moon Theatre on the Mile End Road from 1985-88. He talks about Destiny, a play about the BNP, which attracted hostility from some sections of the community. He describes that this was one of the few productions when he involved the young people’s company. Interviewed by Rosie Vincent.
Theatre historian, Susan Croft explains why she felt the programming of the political play Destiny in the East End during the 1980s was challenging and she recalls how an Asian cast member was humiliated by local youths. Interviewed by Alexia-Pyrrha Ashford.
Annabel Valentine is the archivist at the Royal Holloway University of London, which houses many early Half Moon Theatre archive materials. Here she talks about her favourite item, a photograph of the set of Destiny, about the Far Right in East London during the early 1980s. Interviewed by Elsa Loker.
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