A tale of the Troubles

by Ben Soton

Bloodlands, BBC TV mini-series 2021, Dir: Pete Travis; Starring: James Nesbitt, Charlene McKenna, Lorcan Cranitch, Peter Balance, Lisa Dwan

This BBC1 Sunday night drama is a reminder that Northern Ireland has seen over twenty years of relative peace since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. The series is also a reminder of the fragility of this peace and will remain fragile as long as Ireland remains divided. Recently Britain’s departure from the European Union has shown the economic stupidity of partition. Although a united Ireland inside the EU might be something of a frying pan fire scenario this is something the Irish People need to decide themselves.
    A former IRA commander turned businessman goes missing; whilst a mass grave is uncovered on an island. Attention is drawn to a serial killer known as Goliath who in the days before the Good Friday Agreement carried out a killing spree with a view to scuppering the peace process. With the former IRA man’s death old tensions re-emerge; Sein Fein politicians demand action and street violence breaks out across the Six Counties.
    The job of catching the murderer goes to DCI Tom Brannick (played by James Nesbit) and his assistant DS Charlene McKenna played (by Niamh McGovern). This is the reformed Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI); an improvement on the highly sectarian Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). However, the tensions brought about by the murder are a test as to whether or not things in the north of Ireland really have changed enough.
     Brannick is a Protestant whilst an old rival and Catholic, Jackie Twomey, (played by Lorcan Cranitch) is brought in to lead the investigation; largely to appease the angry Republicans. Meanwhile there are questions being asked as to whether the RUC tried to cover up the original murders. Like all good dramas Bloodlands contains a number of sub-plots; whilst it contains enough tension to keep viewer in their seats. Nesbit, aged fifty-six, is still able to play the all-round hard man with a chip on his shoulder; whilst other characters seen to revolve around his.
     Bloodlands comes at a time when Northern Ireland’s position within the UK is being questioned with positive developments in the rest of Ireland. In the Republic the two main right-wing parties formed a grand-coalition to keep Sein Fein out of office amid calls on both sides of the border for a poll on Irish unity. Meanwhile Loyalist paramilitaries threaten customs officers for carrying out border checks on shipping from Britain. The relationship between Britain and Ireland has become like an abusive marriage, which is now reaching its tedious stage and I should point out that some divorced couples get on much better after ties have been severed.

Axes to grind

by Ben Soton

Small Axe (2020). TV mini-series of five 60-minute episodes on BBC1, Sundays at 9pm; currently also available on BBC iPlayer. Series Director: Steve McQueen.

Small Axe, BBC1’s latest Sunday night drama, is a series of feature-length stories covering the struggles of the West Indian community in Britain. Obviously, a response to this summer’s Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests, I can already hear those of a racist persuasion crying about the BBC getting on the bandwagon. This should be seen in a positive light however, namely would these programmes have been made had it not been for this year’s wave of protest?
The work of director Steve McQueen, the drama covers issues from police harassment to the West Indian music scene. The series successfully depicts the period from the 1960s to the 1980s, which is gradually fading from memory. The drama does not pull any punches about the West Indian community, in particular the issue of domestic violence towards women and the use of soft drugs.
    Episode I, Mangrove, covers the issue of police harassment of the black community. This episode centred around the Mangrove Restaurant in Notting Hill, which was subject to continuous police harassment by the Metropolitan Police. The restaurant was regularly raided on spurious grounds and issued with fines for minor infractions. Fed up with continuous harassment, members of Notting Hill’s black community marched on Notting Hill police station to protest. Those later arrested with riot and affray later became known as the Mangrove Nine.
     Episode II, Lovers Rock, depicts the story of a young black woman caught between white racists and over amorous men from her own community. This episode largely focusses on the West Indian music scene. With an almost entirely black cast, it depicts the tensions within as well as the customs of that community.
    Episode III, Red, White and Blue, on the other hand, covers the experience of a young black man who joins the Metropolitan Police.
     This series of films, along with the BLM protests, comes at a time when many of the gains made by the anti-racist campaigners are, albeit indirectly, coming under attack. This includes the Windrush scandal as well as the hostile environment created toward migrants with its inevitable effect on more established ethnic communities. It was not so long ago however, when the UK was the only state in Europe where an Interior Minister, in the name of Home Secretary Amber Rudd, was forced to resign for racist behaviour. Meanwhile, when far-right activists descended on London to defend (boarded up) statues one of their number was caught urinating on a memorial to a dead police officer. It’s not all doom and gloom but time to remain vigilant.

A Play for Today

by Ben Soton

Les Blancs by Lorraine Hansberry, National Theatre 2016 archive recording. 150 mins. Free on the National Theatre's YouTube channel until January.

Les Blancs, which translates literally as ‘The Whites’, is a brilliant critique of European imperialism’s role in Africa. Set around a mission providing medical care to the local population in an African colony, the play takes the form of a series of arguments between the characters who range from anti-imperialist to colonial oppressor. The actors without exception play the characters well – in particular, Dani Sapani who plays the anti-imperialist Tshembe Matoseh recently returned from Europe.

In true anti-imperialist style, Tshembe makes it clear that he does not hate white people only those who oppress Africa. Whilst expressing solidarity with the European working-class, Les Blancs does not therefore pander to elitist ‘woke’ guilt that holds all white people responsible for the crimes of imperialism. This attitude hinders anti-imperialism as well as being incorrect.

On the other hand, Mayor Rice, played by Clive Francis, exposes the mind-set of the colonial oppressors. They see Africa as their home and describe its iconic scenery and beautiful sunsets; perfectly fine, although it should be added that this can be found in Europe as well. The problem is they see the Africans not as people but as part of the landscape and little better than the wildlife.

It is often said that the colonialists treated Africans as children but, as a rule of thumb, children grow up and leave home – in other words, gain independence. This is where the similarity ends; a better term might be pets.

The play is set entirely in the grounds of the mission, and as it progresses characters move on and off the set. The existence of the mission is a subject of some of these discussions. It is pointed out that although the intentions of those who established it may have been well meaning, the mission has itself become part of the problem. As Tshembe points out, for every germ the mission has eradicated it has probably infected people with three.  The play ends symbolically with the mission being burnt down.

Splitting images

by Ben Soton

The BBC has a tendency to create dramas about people whose lives are a totally dethatched from the rest of the population. Recent examples are Gold Digger, which this column reviewed last year and to a limited extent the comedy Motherland; although this drama may have been redeemed with the inclusion of the working-class character Liz played by Philomena Clunk.

These dramas are exclusively based in London and feature the sort of entitled malcontents you get on Peoples Vote Marches. My heart bleads for them when you hear about them having to wait longer in the passport queue when they visit their Tuscan villas.

A recent example is the legal drama, The Split, now in its second series. It centres on the Defoe family who own a law firm specialising in high class divorce cases. The main character Hannah Stern, played by Nicola Walker, is involved in an affair with a male colleague.  Meanwhile her husband Nathan, a barrister is about to have an affair with his new pupil.

Female celebrity Fi Hansen, played by Donna Air, who bares an uncomfortable resemblance to the recently deceased television presenter Caroline Flack, is the plaintiff in a divorce. Hansen is almost certainly the victim of coercive control from her husband. Ironically Flack may have been guilty of coercive control herself if police reports are to be believed.    

The drama features Hannah’s sisters; one of whom is having difficulties conceiving while the other has a shoplifting and alcohol problem which, at least shows that theft is not the preserve of those who cannot afford to buy the stolen items. 

The emphasis on female characters gives the drama a liberal feminist edge – another piece of equipment in the elite metropolitan tool-kit. This simply means well-heeled women getting into the board room at the expense of everyone else – men and women included. Less well-off women can assist in this crusade by working as child minders and cleaners.       

You would be excused for simply saying who cares? On the other hand, the drama gives an insight into the liberal-metropolitan elite. This highly pretentious group is a product of a highly imbalanced economy where wealth is sucked into London at the expense of the rest of the country. These people fear any form of disruption to their comfortable lifestyles resulting from leaving the European Union and suffer from a disconnect with anywhere outside of the M25.  Their fake internationalism is nothing more than a contempt for the majority of their own population; as well as justification for hiring low-paid au pairs and builders.      

The recent tragedy of British politics was when the fake left sided with this group against the working class. The Tories played their hand with promises of a more balanced economy and, of course, honouring the 2016 referendum. Most of the Tories promises will come to little more than hot air. But it would be nice to see television series feature ordinary folk who don’t live in London once in a while.