A tragedy of our times

May 10th 2007
From The Economist print edition

A play that sets out to tell the story of the siege of Fallujah

 

 

 

FEW incidents in the war in Iraq have appeared as sinister as the siege of Fallujah in 2004. News agencies were not allowed to enter the city. Reports of atrocities—unconfirmed, fragmented but horrific—filtered out. Dozens of articles of the Geneva Convention were allegedly breached during the American bid to “re-establish control and pacify” this Sunni stronghold in central Iraq.

 

 

Eyewitness testimonies from the siege, delivered by actors, are the cornerstone of a new play written and directed by Jonathan Holmes. Called “Fallujah”, it is being performed this month in a vast, converted brewery in London's East End. The play splices together the verbatim reports of Iraqi doctors, insurgents and civilians, all of whom experienced the siege at first hand, and offsets them with the speeches of American soldiers and high-ranking officials.

 

Mr Holmes is not attempting to be objective but to address what he sees as “the two principal atrocities of Fallujah”. The first, which cannot be undone, is the behaviour of American troops. The second, he says, is the failure of the West to condemn that behaviour. “There remains only the opportunity to publicise the disgrace, and to condemn it noisily.”

 

An impressive roster of collaborators has joined him in the task. Lucy and Jorge Orta, two contemporary artists, have created the set; Nitin Sawhney, a musician, provides a near-constant claustrophobic soundscape; and several talented actors, led by Harriet Walter and Imogen Stubbs, recount the ordeals of the besieged.

 

Medical supply crates, sandbags and hospital beds lie scattered around the industrial interior of the brewery. Multi-coloured body suits with fixed, open mouths scream out from walls and hang from the ceiling. These stylised corpses each bear a different inscription. “Force is the weapon of the weak,” reads one. Television screens insist on the authenticity of everything you are about to see and hear.

 

The audience shuffles about this landscape while the action takes place around them. Soldiers push their way through, swaggering and malevolent; a roving stage light suddenly picks out two women in the audience as Iraqi aid workers. They weave gracefully through the crowd, telling their story, placing a hand gently on someone's shoulder.

 

The unnatural staging and Brechtian “breaking of the fourth wall” between actors and audience implicate the audience in the unfolding events. Yet the accounts of injustice, though truly upsetting, are monotone, and the message (anti-war, anti-American) lacks any shade of nuance. And the play's contrivances have an alienating effect. Any link to the everyday has been airbrushed out: death is reported in a highly stylised fashion. Sometimes the play, with its disdain for characterisation and its endless catalogue of horrors, seems to be struggling under the weight of its own self-importance. Even with these faults, however, “Fallujah” can still be applauded for casting light on a shameful chapter in a disastrous war.

 

sin ‧ is ‧ ter / ˈs ɪ n  st ə $ - ə r /

making you feel that something evil, dangerous, or illegal is happening or will happen

there is something/nothing sinister about somebody/something

There was something sinister about Mr Scott's death.

There is a sinister side to these events.

He was a handsome man in a sinister sort of way.

a sinister atmosphere

 

a ‧ troc ‧ i ‧ ty / ə ˈ tr ɒ s  ti $ ə ˈ tr ɑ ː - /

 

plural atrocities

[countable usually plural, uncountable]

an extremely cruel and violent action, especially during a war

 

filter out 　

2

to remove words, information etc that you do not need or want

Net users can filter out unwanted emails with software.

 

ver ‧ ba ‧ tim / v ɜ ː ˈbe ɪ t  m $ v ɜ ː r- / formal

repeating the actual words that were spoken or written

ￚ synonym word-for-word

verbatim account/quote/report etc

 a verbatim account of our conversation

Their stories were taped and transcribed verbatim.

 

 

Offset

to make something look better by being close to it and different

His blonde hair offset a deep tan.

 

 (at) first hand

if you know or experience something first hand, you have personal experience of it

an opportunity to view at first hand the workings of the court

 

 

prin ‧ ci ‧ pal / ˈpr ɪ ns  p  l / [only before noun]

most important

ￚ synonym main

His principal reason for making the journey was to visit his family.

Teaching is her principal source of income.

the principal character in the book

 

ros ‧ ter / ˈr ɒ st ə $ ˈr ɑ ː st ə r / [countable]

1

a list of the names of people on a sports team, in an organization etc

on a roster

The club has outstanding players on the roster.

roster of

The campaign has a roster of 500 volunteers.

 

re ‧ count / r ɪ ˈ ka ʊ nt / [transitive]

formal to tell someone a story or describe a series of events

recount how/what

Alan recounted how he and Joyce had met.

 

medical supply

医疗器械 , 医疗用品

 

 

lie around phrasal verb

1

lie around (something)

if something is lying around, it has been left somewhere in an untidy way, rather than being in its proper place

If you leave your shoes lying around like that, you'll trip over them.

Papers and books lay around the room in complete chaos.

 

body suit

n. （名词）

A tight-fitting one-piece garment for the torso.

紧身衣裤：覆盖躯体的连衣紧身衣

 

ｐｕｓｈ　

3

▶ TRY TO GET PAST ◀

[intransitive] to use your hands, arms etc to make people or things move, so that you can get past them

Don't push. Everyone will get a turn.

push (your way) past/through/into etc

A fat man pushed past me in his rush to leave.

She pushed her way to the front.

 

swag ‧ ger / ˈswæg ə $ - ə r / [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]

to walk proudly, swinging your shoulders in a way that shows you are very confident - used to show disapproval

He swaggered over towards me.

 

ma ‧ lev ‧ o ‧ lent / m ə ˈ lev ə l ə nt / formal

a malevolent person wants to harm other people

ￚ synonym evil

ￚ opposite benevolent

malevolent look/stare/smile etc He gave her a dark, malevolent look.

 

pick somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb

1

▶ CHOOSE ◀

to choose someone or something from a group

She picked out a navy blue dress. His story was picked out as the best by the judges.

2

▶ RECOGNIZE ◀

to recognize someone or something in a group of people or things

She was able to pick out her father at the other side of the room. I picked out Valerie's voice from among the general conversation.

 

stag ‧ ing / ˈste ɪ d ʒɪ ŋ /

1

[uncountable and countable] when a play is performed on stage

a modern-dress staging of 'Hamlet'

2

[uncountable] a flat raised surface that is put up for a short time for people to stand and work on

 

im ‧ pli ‧ cate / ˈ ɪ mpl  ke ɪ t / [transitive]

1

to show or suggest that someone is involved in a crime or dishonest act

The allegations implicated Abe to such an extent he was forced to resign.

implicate somebody in something

Three police officers are implicated in the cover-up.

2

[usually passive] formal if something is implicated in something bad or harmful, it is shown to be its cause

be implicated in something

Viruses are known to be implicated in the development of some cancers.

 

unfold 2

[intransitive] if a series of events unfold, they happen

He had watched the drama unfold from a nearby ship.

 

shade of meaning/opinion/feeling etc

a meaning etc that is slightly different from other ones

ￚ synonym nuance

There is room in the Democratic party for many shades of opinion.

 

 

airbrush [transitive]

to use an airbrush to make a picture or photograph look better

airbrush somebody/something ↔ out phrasal verb

to remove someone or something from a picture or photograph using an airbrush

 

cast light on/onto something

to provide new information about something, making it easier to understand

research findings that cast new light on the origin of our universe

The numerous biographies of Baldwin cast little light on the subject.

 

weight

▶ HEAVINESS ◀

[uncountable] the fact that something is heavy

The weight of her boots made it hard for Sue to run.

I didn't know if the bridge would support our weight .

under the weight of something

Karen staggered along under the weight of her backpack.