Failed States

1 hour 30 minutes, no interval

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” Benjamin Franklin

When a man called Joseph is arrested without charge or explanation it is the beginning of nightmare journey in which he tries to prove his innocence without knowing that of which he is accused.

In 1914 Franz Kafka imagined an absurd dystopia in which such a thing would be possible. Between 2001 and 2005 that nightmare became a reality as the UK and USA reacted in horror to the 9/11 and 7/7 bombings. In 2006 Andrew Taylor and Desmond O’Connor wrote Failed States; a tense musical drama that unflinchingly probes the lengths to which a society will go in order to defend itself from an invisible enemy.

At the close of 2014 the CIA an MI5 gave the first hints of the full extent of their covert treatment of suspects in the war on terror. Failed States was revealed to be every bit as prescient and morbidly insightful as Kafka’s original vision. This strictly limited revival of an award winning show brings together a fine team of stunningly talented performers in the intensely intimate setting of the St. James Studio to create an unforgettably unique musical theatre experience.

‘An intelligent musical that is a thrill to watch… Taylor and Desmond O’Connor’s bold, highly original show considers the price we pay in depleted civil liberties because of the war on terror.’ Lyn Gardner, The Guardian.