My name is Rachel Corrie
Developed and co-written by Alan Rickman.
Why did a 23-year-old woman leave her comfortable American life to stand between a bulldozer and a Palestinian home?A good friend of ours was at the opening performance of My Name is Rachel Corrie, which is the play co-written by Alan Rickman and directed by him. It is a very moving in-depth recount of the pacifist/activist Rachel Corrie who was run over and killed by a bulldozer in Gaza trying to stop militia destroying homes in that region. The play was very sensitively written by Mr. Rickman and writing partner Katherine Viner (She is the editor of the Guardian newspaper) They used the actual letters and emails 23 year old Rachel sent home to her friends and family in the run up to the tragedy. It is very skillfully put together , getting across the starkness of the landscape and situation and the warmth of the land and the people Rachel came in contact with and the girl herself. It's beautifully portrayed by the actress playing Rachel (it's a one woman show) Megan Dodds. A couple of young Alan Rickman fans from Madrid were totally rewarded for getting there very early and standing at the head of the queue to get in. They were standing right next to the lift when the man himself came out. He gave them a very sweet smile and then had to squeeze past them and the rest of us to get up the stairs into the auditorium. He didn't have time to stand and chat as this was the very first preview night and he was with some guests but he was very gracious. The play runs until the 30th April at the Royal Court Theatre in Sloane Square London, it runs for just under 1 hour and 30 minutes. Tickets cost 15 British pounds with reductions for students. It's free seating, but the space is very intimate so it's completely unobstructed no matter where you sit. The programme/play bill costs two British pounds but is actually the entire script of the play too so it's well worth buying. If anyone has the chance to get to the theatre then please do so see a great performance. Reviews are not officially due out until Friday and we'll bring you our own as soon as we can.
**Thanks T for the news!