Optional Supplemental/Background Information

The following information gives some contextual information about the play including details about the playwright and the history of the story and the original production. It is intended for you to use as much or as little as interests you and is in no way required for you to be familiar with it in regards to our discussions.

SCOTT’S TAKE

David Hare is well-regarded as a documentarian of the state of Great Britain. His plays often tackle political, societal, or institutional subjects that often reveal imbalances in the power structures of the country. While THE PERMANENT WAY certainly falls within this category, it is notable because it is not a fictional narrative, but a documentary piece. The play was crafted from extensive interviews with players in the events. The interviews were conducted by the cast and the text was then compiled and crafted into this piece of “verbatim theatre”, dialogue that is taken directly from first-hand accounts so that the playwright is more of an editor than a creator. Verbatim theatre has been very impactful over the last 30 years and THE PERMANENT WAY could be considered as the first play in a loose “verbatim trilogy” that Hare wrote during the end of the 20th-Century and into the first decade of the 21st. The second play, STUFF HAPPENS, recounts the run-up to the US invasion of Iraq (and also implicating the Blair government in this decision), while the third play, THE POWER OF YES, tries to unravel the reasons behind the 2008 financial collapse. All three plays were presented by the National Theatre. Interrestingly, Hare has since stated his disdain for verbatim theatre, as he finds it constricting and less creative to write than a traditional fictional narrative. However, in the first decade of the 21st-Century,

All this being said, when I first prepared to read THE PERMANENT WAY back in 2004, I was not anticipating that a story about the privatization of the British rail system would be particularly interesting. Gladly, I was proven wrong. Not only were the events of the play new to me, the overall story of privatization proved to be all too familiar. The tensions between the government, industry, and the public of the play ring very true in the US, even though the details surrounding the rail system may not reflect our own national priorities. I’m also intrigued by how Hare stuctured the story and edited the text so that it flows so seamlessly. I read it and it both does and doesn’t feel like a play as it’s not inherently theatrical; it feels like a documentary film.

I’ve read almost all of David Hare’s original plays and find him to be a fascinating dramatist in that he tends not to repeat himself very much in either subject or form. In looking at his entire canon, THE PERMANENT WAY does feel like a structural outlier. However, I find I am drawn back to it with more frequency than most of his other plays, both for the story being told and for the method of the telling.

PLAYWRIGHT: DAVID HARE

Along with Caryl Churchill and Tom Stoppard, David Hare is one of Britain’s greatest living playwrights, which is somewhat ironic as he started out as a stage director with no interest in writing. He is in his 6th decade of writing for the stage and has produced 37 plays, both original and adaptations. He has also written 20 scripts for film, television and radio. He has had more plays premiere at the National Theatre than any other living playwright (15). His work has been presented at the National during the reigns of four of the five artistic directors since the company moved to the South Bank. His plays SKYLIGHT, BEHIND THE BEAUTIFUL FOREVERS, and I’M NOT RUNNING have all been presented through National Theatre Live. He has been nominated for seven Olivier Awards for Best New Play, winning twice; tallies that are matched only by Tom Stoppard (nominations and wins) and Martin McDonagh (wins). Previous Loose In London tours have attended

MEDIA: DAVID HARE

There is no shortage of interviews with David Hare. The selections below are primarily overviews of his life and work, his process, and the state of British writing for the stage. I find his views on the power of theatre and the high bar that is set for those writing for the stage to be quite honest and inspiring.

• This is from a podcast by the Royal Court and hosted by one of my favorite playwrights, Simon Stephens. Simon is a brilliant writer, well-respected, and probably the greatest ambassador theatre and new writing could ask for. He adapted the production of Brecht’s THREE-PENNY OPERA that was broadcast by NT Live several years ago and was the first guest speaker we had for Loose In London. Click HERE for Simon’s interview with David Hare.

• From the Aukland Writers Festival. This is very much worth listening to, in particular for his stories about trying to give notes to Helen Mirren at 24:23.

• Article by David Hare in which he explores the tenuous relationship between journalism and theatre.

GLOSSARY

• The Permanent Way - The elements of railway lines: generally the pairs of rails typically laid on the sleepers or ties embedded in ballast, intended to carry the ordinary trains of a railway. It is described as permanent way because in the earlier days of railway construction, contractors often laid a temporary track to transport spoil and materials about the site; when this work was substantially completed, the temporary track was taken up and the permanent way installed.

• Labour Party - Left-centre political party in England.

• Daily Mail - Right-wing tabloid newspaper with highest cirbulation of any paper in England.

• Bank of England - The central bank of the UK. All government business and financing is done through the Bank of England. It no longer offers consumer banking of any kind.

• Ken Livingstone - Mayor of London from 2000-2008.

• John Birt - Director of the BBC from 1992-2000.

• The “public enterprises” - If you really want to get into the weeds regarding government ownership of British enterprises prior to reform in 1979...

• John Welsby - CEO of British Rail from 1990-1998.

• Floating - The process of changing a private company into a public company by issuing shares and encouraging the public to purchase them.

• Singapore Airlines - Partnered with UK banks to provide services to UK’s Concord fleet. First step towards privatisation of British Airways.

• TSB - Trustee Savings Bank. Thatcher pushed the privatisation of many traditionally government owned businesses throughout the 1980’s and this was one of the first. Created by UK government in 1810 as a place to collect and look after the savings for the working public. Privatised in 1985 in what has been called the “great “give-away”. Investors received not only ownership of the bank, but also all the money that they invested. It’s a fascinating story if you want to look into it.

• Abbey National - Government owned financial institution primarily providing home mortgages to its members. Privatised in 1986

• BA - British Airways. Privatised in 1987.

• British Steel - National consoidation of 14 major steel companies in the 1950’s. Privatised in 1988

• Eurotunnel - Also known as the Channel Tunnel or Chunnel. British Rail signed an agreement with Eurotunnel before the tunnel was built guaranteeing them the use of half of the tunnel for rail service.

• Ryanair - Ultra-low-cost Irish airline

• Railtrack - Group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of British Rail.

• John Major - Conservative Prime Minister from 1990-1997 who succeeded MArgaret Thatcher.

• Whitehall - Main street running from Trafalgar Square to Parliament and is the center of the British government.

• The City - Refers to the City of London, the area around St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Guildhall. Approximately the same location as the original Roman settlement, Londinium.

• John Prescott - Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Transport from 1997-2007. Son of a railway signalman. Vigorously opposed the privatisation of the industry and disliked the party's policy, established in 1996 just before the flotation of Railtrack of committing to renationalise the industry only when resources allowed, which he saw as meaning that it would never be done. Reluctantly, he supported the alternative policy that the industry should be subjected to closer regulation by Railtrack, which was widely regarded as having depressed the price of the shares. In 1998, Prescott stated that the privatised railway was a "national disgrace" and announced that he would be taking a far tougher line with the companies.

• Hatfield - Railway accident on October, 2000, at Hatfield, Hertfordshire. It was caused by a metal fatigue-induced derailment, killing four people and injuring more than 70

• The Lost Victory - Argues that the Labour government didn’t live up to its promise of a 'New Jerusalem' in which poverty, unemployment, ill health and poor housing would be abolished after a landslide victory at the end of WWII, but that the party executed mistaken strategies with costly consequences for the nation.

• Nuremberg - Military tribunals after WWII that prosecuted leaders of the Nazi government for their role in atrocities of the war.

• Balkanisation - The practice of dividing an entity into smaller mutually hostile groups.

• Inter-city - British Rail service that was responsible for long-haul express passenger trains.

• Rifkind - Malcom Rifkind, Transportation Secretary from 1990-1992 under John Major, supported privatisation but concluded that it would be a mistake to separate ownership of the infrastructure from the operating companies. Major favoured the argument that competition between railway companies would be discouraged if one company owned the track. Rifkind maintained that the competition to rail would come from air and road and not from other rail companies. After Rifkind left the Ministry of Transport in 1992, Major’s view prevailed which led to the creation of Railtrack.

• McGregor - John McGregor, Major’s Transportation Secretary from 1992-1994, published the government’s white paper on rail privatization separating ownership of the track and infrastructure and ownership of the train companies. The plan was heavily criticized.

• Mawhinney - Brian Mawhinney, Major’s Transportation Secretary from 1994-1995, finally succeeded in pushing through Major’s rail privatization agenda.

• John Christopher Paul Edmonds - Like Welsby, former CEO of British Rail. First CEO of Railtrack from 1994-1997.

• Balfour Beatty - Leader in rail construction and maintenance services.

• Jarvis - Rail construction and support services for railway industry.

• Nicholas Ridley - Thatcher’s Transport Secretary from 1984-1986. Likened the European Community to Adolf Hitler and labeled French officials “poodles” who are submitting to German domination of an emerging united Europe in 1990. Thatcher accepted his resignation two days later.

• Pendalinos - State-of-the-art high-speed trains that “tilted” up to 8 degrees so that passengers wouldn’t slide across the carriage on corners.

• McAlpine’s - Sir Ropert McAlpine, construction and engineering company.

• Stanstead Express - Express service linking London’s Liverpool Station to Stanstead Airport about 35 miles NNE from central London.

• Screwfast - Manufacturer of foundation screws for rail structures.

• HIVIS - High-visibility safety clothing.

• Neurofen - Over-the-counter pain medication.Southall - Rail crash on September 19,1997, on the Great Western Main Line at Southall, west London. An high speed passenger train failed to slow down in response to warning signals and collided with a freight train crossing its path, causing seven deaths and 139 injuries.

• CID - Criminal Investigation Department, branch of the police force.

• Sainsbury’s - Supermarket.

• Ceefax - Information display service (precursor to the crawl on news channels) used by the BBC.

• AWS - Automatic Warning System that gives drivers audible warning and visual reminder of upcoming signals.

• Great Western Trains - Train operating company that services western England and Wales from London.

• Marks and Spencer - Retailer specializing in home and food products. Think Fred Meyer.

• Disaster Action Group - Charity formed in 1992 run by survivors and the bereaved to support victims and families of those involved in disasters.

• Swansea - 2nd-largest city in Wales.

• Crown Prosecution Service - Prosecutes criminal cases that have been investigated by the police, making decisions independently of the police and government.

• QC - Queen’s Counsel, a lawyer who is a senior counsel in court cases.

• Old Bailey - Centrall Criminal Court of England and Wales, located on Old Bailey Street in London.

• The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 - Lays down wide-ranging duties on employers, who must protect the 'health, safety and welfare' at work of all their employees, as well as others on their premises, including temps, casual workers, the self-employed, clients, visitors and the general public.

• Richard George - Managing Director of Great Western and responsible for safety at the company. Rebuked by the Judge in the trial for not appearing in court at the hearings.

• Bescott and Bedford - Two different railway stations a couple of hours NNW of London.

• Eurostar - A high-speed rail service between London and France making use of the Channel Tunnel.

• Marchioness disaster - The Marchioness was a pleasure boat that was hit twice by a dredging barge on the Thames between Cannon Street railway bridge and Southwark Bridge. 51 people died.

• Law Society - Independent association that provides services and support to lawyers and serves as a sounding board for law reform.

• Groundhog Day - Movie with Bill Murry, who plays a weatherman, and every morning he wakes up and relives the same day over and over.

• Cheltenham Flyer - High-speed train owned by Great Western.

• Bedwyn Turbo - Train built for Thames Trains.

• Arcadia Group - Giant retail company that is the parent company of many other retailers such as Top Man and Burton’s.

• Reading - Town about 40 miles west of London.

• Sky News -Free news service broadcast over the airwaves.

• Capital Radio - Large radio network covering most of England that programmed mostly pop music.

• Ladbroke Grove disaster - Also known as the Paddington rail crash. Cheltenham Flyer and Thames Turbo crashed head-on killing 31 and injuring 417.

• Lord Cullen - William Cullen, judge who oversaw public inquiry of the Ladbroke Grove disaster.

• Slough - town about 20 miles due west of London.

• Royal Lancaster Hotel - Upscale hotel on north side of Hyde Park.

• Sod’s Law - Same as Murphy’s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will.

• Alastair Campbell - Tony Blair’s spokesman and press secretary.

• Socialist Worker - Far-left newspaper published weekly.

• Throat - Constricted area at the end of a railway station where rail lines divide into platform tracks.

• Heathrow Express - direct line that runs between Heathrow and Paddington Station.

• Oldham’s - Car dealership in Oldham, in the suburbs of Manchester in the north.

• Concorde crash - Air France Flight 4590 from Paris to New York caught fire and crashed into a hotel two minutes after take-off on July 25, 2000 killing 113 and injuring 6. The crash ultimately lead to the demise of the Concorde.

• Hatfield - Town an hour north of London.

• Leeds - Town 4 hours north of London.

• Bolton Abbey - Village just north of Yorkshire, about 4.5 hours north of London.

• York - City about an hour due east of Bolton Abbey.

• Nick Pollard - Regional Director of Railtrack. Eventually brought up on manslaughter charges in connection with Hatfield crash, but charges were ultimately dropped.

• GNER - Great Northern Eastern Railway, a train service for Scotland the northeast part of England, also connecting with London.

• Watford - Town about 20 miles NW of London. Now home to Warner Bros. Harry Potter Film Studio Exhibit.

• Great Heck - Town near Selby, about 30 miles east of Leeds. Also known as Selby rail crash. On February 28, 2001, a man driving his Land Rover and pulling a trailer, ran off the road just before a bridge and rolled down an embankment and landed on a railway track. A passenger train operated by Great Norther Eastern Railway, traveling from Newcastle to London, collided with the Land Rover at 142 mph and derailed, killing 10 and injuring 82.

• Winchester - Town about 70 miles SW of London. 120 miles from Canterbury.

• Canterbury - Town about 70 miles SE of London. 120 miles from Winchester.

• Paxman - Jeremy Paxman, broadcast journalist for Newsnight, BBC 2’s current events program. Paxman was known for his tough but fair interviews with politicians.

• Spinorail - Also, Speno Rail, Austrailian engineering company that produces rail grinding engines which repairs and removes irrgularities from worn tracks.

• Stagecoach - Also, Stagecoach Group, Scotish company that was born out of privatization of railway and one of the first companies to operate private rail services in Scotland.

• Carrington principle - Peter Carrington, Foreign Secretary under Thatcher when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. Resigned three days after invasion, taking responsibility for his failure to see it coming.

• Nottingham - Town 2.5 hours NNW of London.

• Yorkshire Water - Water supply and water treatment company in Yorkshire.

• Bedfordshire - Town 1.5 hours NNW of London.

• King’s Cross - Rail station in north London.

• King’s Lynn - Port town in Norfolk County 100 miles north of London.

• Potter’ss Bar - Town 13 miles north of London.

• Squadron Leader - Commissioned officer in the Royal Air Force. RAF has search and rescue teams that sometimes work with local authorities during disasters.

• Steve Norris - Former Conservative Minister of Parliament who was running for London Mayor when he was named interim chair of Jarvis, who was responsible for upgrading the London Underground.

• Alistair Darling - Labor politician who was Transport Secretary under Gordon Brown from 2002-2006.

• Mein gott! - “My God!”

• Bicester - Town 65 miles WNW of London.

• Tornadoes - Twin-engine fighter jet used by RAF in Iraq.

MEDIA: THE PERMANENT WAY

• Leading Us Up The Wrong Track - David Hare writes about the competing interests of government, industry, and the public in Guardian article.

• Reaction to The Permanent Way from the public and railway industry leaders.

• Observer feature on the origin and process of creating The Permanent Way.

• David Hare explores fact vs fiction in writing for the stage.

MEDIA: THE PERMANENT WAY (Video)

MEDIA: THE PERMANENT WAY (Audio)

• BBC Radio adaptation of THE PERMANENT WAY with original cast. Radio drama is a different creature than plays for the stage. It’s a much more intimate energy and one that I find difficult to enjoy at times. This recording reflects a much lower and quieter energy than I would expect on the stage. That being said, once I got used to this quality I was able to enjoy the recording for the story and performances.

• Interview with Max Stafford-Clark on David Hare and directing THE PERMANENT WAY. Stafford-Clark was one of the most respected directors of the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. He formed the Joint Stock Theatre Company in the 70’s, was artistic director of the Royal Court for all of the 80’s (and remains its longest serving AD), and formed the Out of Stock touring company in the 90’s.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Slag (1970)

• The Great Exhibition (1972)

• Brassneck (1973) (with Howard Brenton)

• Knuckle (1974)

• Fanshen (1975)

• Teeth 'n' Smiles (1975)

• Plenty (1978)

• A Map of the World (1982)

• Pravda (1985) (with Howard Brenton)

• The Bay at Nice, and Wrecked Eggs (1986)

• The Knife (1987) (with Nick Bicat and Tim Rose Price)

• The Secret Rapture (1988)

• Racing Demon (1990)

• Murmuring Judges (1991)

• The Absence of War (1993)

• Skylight (1995)

• Amy's View (1997)

• Ivanov (1997) (adapted from Chekhov)

• The Blue Room (1998) (adapted from Arthur Schnitzler)

• The Judas Kiss (1998)

• Via Dolorosa (1998)

• My Zinc Bed (2000)

• Platonov (2001) (adapted from Chekhov)

• The Breath of Life (2002)

• The Permanent Way (2003)

• Stuff Happens (2004)

• The Vertical Hour (2006)

• Gethsemane (2008)

• Berlin (2009)

• Wall (2009)

• The Power of Yes (2009)

• South Downs (2011)

• Behind the Beautiful Forevers (2014)

• The Seagull (2015) (adapted from Chekhov)

• The Moderate Soprano (2015)

• The Red Barn (2016) (adapted from La Main by Georges Simenon)

• I'm Not Running (2018)

• Beat the Devil (2020)

• [UPCOMING] Straight Line Crazy (2022)