1936 - Arcola Theatre
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
ATTIC Theatre Company is presenting 1936, Tom McNab’s play about the Berlin Olympics, at the Arcola Theatre – from April 6 to April 24, 2010.
World-class athletics coach and award-winning novelist/playwright McNab depicts the lead up to one of the most controversial sporting events in history, employing the unusual combination of drama and sport to explore the events that helped place Hitler’s Germany firmly in the centre of the world stage.
1936 recreates the conversations and conflicts leading up to the Games, as seen through the eyes of American Journalist William Shirer.
And placing scenes between Hitler and Goebbels next to debates in the International Olympic Committee and the American Amateur Athletics Union, it reveals the controversies surrounding the event, portraying political and cultural tensions and the stories of the athletes involved, with Jesse Owens at the centre.
The Berlin Games were the first time that the Olympics were used as a powerful political tool for propaganda. Despite Hitler’s treatment of the Jews and Jewish athletes, no boycott was ever achieved. Could the cancellation of the Games have changed World History?
Through raising this issue, 1936 reminds us of Olympics that have taken on a political dimension since then, from the Civil Rights ‘Black Power’ salute of 1968, to the murders at Munich in 1972, and the human rights protests outside the Beijing Bird’s Nest.
Jenny Lee directs a cast of nine that includes Jim Creighton (Chichester and National Theatre), David Baron (National Theatre) and Rolan Bell (The Lion King and EastEnders).
The evening concludes with an excerpt from Leni Riefenstahl’s film Olympia, touched on in the play, and a debate led by Tom McNab. Eminent athletes joining the panel include Linford Christie, Tony Jarrett, Geoff Capes and 1936 silver medalist Dorothy Tyler 1936.
Tom McNab’s credits in the arts include the best-selling novel Flanagan’s Run, several radio plays, technical direction on the multi Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire and involvement in the creation of TV-Am with Michael Parkinson and David Frost in the 1980s.
His sporting achievements include three Olympics, coaching the English Rugby team to a World Cup Silver in 1992 and winning the British Coach of the Year title in 1992 and 1994.
Tickets: £16, £10 concessions), Tuesdays – ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ (subject to availability).
Times: 8pm, Saturday matinee (April 24) at 3pm.
For more information call the box office on 020 7503 1646 or visit www.arcolatheatre.com