Director’s notes/ Description

TNT present four fascinating accounts of the clash between British culture and the cultures that were subdued and then rebelled against her empire. Some of the finest writing in English literature has explored this theme, a theme that resonates today in a world where multi-racial societies have become normal and ethnic strife is never far away. The four stories are;

“An Outpost of Progress” by Joseph Conrad; in which a pair of failed European traders are abandoned to their fates in an outpost of tropical Africa sometime before the first world war.

“The Force of Circumstance” by Somerset Maugham; in which a mismatched British couple watch their marriage disintegrate before their eyes when they move to 1920’s Borneo.

“Dead Man’s Path” by Chinua Achebe, a tale set in post colonial Africa. A Nigerian school teacher tries to impose European values on a traditional village with disastrous results.

“Good Advice is Rarer Than Rubies” by Salman Rushdie; set in contemporary India. A Bombay woman applies for a visa to emigrate to Britain. Offered bad advice by an old trickster she manages to extract a perfect revenge.

Each of these stories are brought alive through dynamic and exciting theatre which combines music, complex sound and visually striking imagery. The play will be performed by a multi-racial cast.