A Family Business – China Plate / Omnibus Theatre, London

China Plate bring their “sneakily informative” work A Family Business to Clapham’s Omnibus Theatre, opening up a thought-provoking conversation about the ever-present threat of nuclear weapons.

A Family Business

Do you know what the effect of a smallish nuclear weapon landing in Clapham would be?  I now do.  Chris Thorpe’s A Family Business is theatre as activism, increasing awareness of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  Have you heard of it?  I had not.   And yet its instigators, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.

Thorpe’s work is engaging, blending factual information with the story of how a chance encounter led him into the orbit of this remarkable campaign.  There’s even a quiz.  The levity helps to break up the incredibly serious subject matter.  Those behind the Treaty, along with Thorpe and many others, believe that unless we change the narrative around nuclear weapons and disarm those countries who have them, nuclear war is inevitable whether it’s deliberately or accidentally instigated.  It’s a terrifying thought.  And consequently, perhaps, part of the reason why it’s not more of a topic of conversation… Living in today’s world requires a certain amount of cognitive dissonance.

What was so different about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is that it subverted the status quo.  It utilised the processes of the United Nations, rather than waiting for the nuclear powers to come to the table.  Because, you see, there’s a certain way these things work.  The UN has 193 member states and two observer states.  When a new Treaty is made available, it takes 50 of those states ratifying it (signing up and making it official) for it to become international law.  And with only nine nuclear powers, that left a lot of potential signatories to get to 50.  That those nuclear powers may have underestimated both the campaign and the moral power of those traditionally less powerful states coming together is their loss and the world’s gain.

Theatre as Activism

But back to the theatrical production at hand. 

Thorpe performs as well as having written the work, and is joined by three actors who help us understand political maneuvering we are not generally privy to.  There is the woman Thorpe met: Senior Arms Advisor for the International Committee of the Red Cross at the United Nations (played by Andrea Quirbach).  There is her colleague, a diplomat from a country in the Global South (to use the parlance of the play and the UN – played by Efé Agwele).  And there is this second woman’s counterpart from a nuclear power, who fulfils the role asked of him by his country whatever his own beliefs might be (Greg Barnett).  There’s a fair amount of complex characterisation for what might appear to be political proxies. And the dialogue also touches on connected issues including climate change, racism in international politics, aid as a tool to force political outcomes, and more.

This is not the only format through which Thorpe addresses this topic. He also has a one man show designed to be less formal and more flexible.  It is something he has clearly given a lot of thought to: the subject connects with his interests in how we think and why we think that way.  Using theatre to open up and normalise this topic of conversation is an effective tool. Even if, as theatre, it becomes rather busy. Thorpe’s easy conversational style helps to bridge some of these structural difficulties. And a post-show talk with experts including Véronique Christory (on whom Quirbach’s character is based) deepened my understanding of some of the issues at play. 

Many in the audience were clearly passionate about this topic, but the point of this production is to bring others like you and me into the conversation.  It’s on until tomorrow so why not give it a go?

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3/5

A Family Business on at Omnibus Theatre Clapham until 25 February and on tour.  More info here.