Interview: Jeremy Herrin, The Absence of War

Steve Wright talks to award-winning director Jeremy Herrin, whose adaptations of Hilary Mantel’s Tudor sagas have met with huge acclaim – and who now directs David Hare’s political drama The Absence of War (Bristol Old Vic, 10-14 March).

Hare’s drama follows the fortunes of George Jones, a harassed Labour politician hoping for the ultimate prize at the 1992 General Election – and facing both personal and professional demons. See our preview of the production here.

From today’s 24-hour news standpoint, how familiar does Hare’s 1992 election campaign look?
The play has its cake  and eats it. 1992 looks interestingly dated – Ceefax and pagers are funny things to have around, and yet the discoveries they were making about how to control the political narrative and why people vote or don’t vote Labour hold good today.
It’s very interesting to look at the early days of a political culture. Assumptions made then are seemingly impossible to challenge now. What’s great about the play, and why it works today, is that it got its analysis exactly right. It’s written before Blair, but his inevitability looms large over the play.

What are these demons, both political and personal, plaguing George Jones?
What is leadership? What makes some leaders effective and others fail? The play is acute about left and centre-left politics, but on another level it’s about a man trying to achieve something heroic – and the forces within himself and his environment that stop him. His responsibility is not only to himself and his team – but also to his party and to the wider progressive movement. Maybe his sense of himself is too frail? How ruthless do you have to be to succeed? What price power? 

Is the play of most interest to people already interested in the cut and thrust of British politics – or are its themes more universal? 
It’s a big play and it won’t be reduced. If you like politics there’s lots of nourishment there, but it’s not just for policy geeks. George’s story is recognisable to everyone, and the play zips along with twists and turns and lots of good jokes.

You’ve recently directed Hilary Mantel’s Tudor novels for the RSC. Do you find similarities, or striking differences, in the way British politics was practised in 1532 and 1992?
It’s still all about the narrative and who controls it. Personal relationships and shared interests are how it works, as well as strong ideological beliefs and imaginative ways of enforcing them. Thomas Cromwell would be incredibly welcome in George’s private office. If he were there, I guess George would be going for a record sixth term as Prime Minister in 2015.

How would you characterise David Hare’s appeal and popularity? Is he a brilliant observer of political gerrymandering, is his humour wonderfully black and mordant, does he create characters we both disdain and sympathise with?
I suppose it’s all those things. Personally, I love the combination of insightful political analysis and a romantic streak that always comes through. He is an epic playwright, and there’s no  one better at laying out a situation with real clarity – yet he always allows a broad audience to feel for the characters. He’s also very good at representing the views of people that he wouldn’t agree with in real life. And he can write sparkling rhetorical dialogue.

Will people come out of this play with more or less faith in the British political system?
Such a good question. Yes, it’s easy to see an economic structure that favours corporations and the rich, and our parliamentary system often looks like a way to legitimise that often criminal behaviour. But personally, I feel energised by this play. It’s too easy to disengage from politics and to damn politicians as an out-of-touch class that has no interest in voters’ real lives.
But for all its failings, our democracy is porous and we can effect some degree of change if we make some noise. One of the reasons our politics is the way it is, is that we’ve allowed it to be that way. So I feel more engaged than ever and I encourage everyone to register to vote and to participate. This play, along with the rest of our work with Headlong, is about treating our audience with intelligence and encouraging them to challenge received ways of looking at the world. Ultimately, it’s about not being passive.

The Absence of War is at Bristol Old Vic from Tuesday, March 10 to Saturday, March 14. For more info and to book tickets, visit http://www.bristololdvic.org.uk/absenceofwar.html

Picture: Mark Douet