Interview with Jonathan Brown, Artistic Director and Founder of Something Underground

JONATHAN BROWN WRITES, DIRECTS AND PERFORMS IN OF OUR OWN MAKING

An unsettling look at why people commit atrocities and the part we all play in creating those we label ‘monsters’

Taking an unflinching look at the people behind the labels, this hard-hitting new play asks how responsible society is for creating the ‘monsters’ it fears. Three characters flee the shores of Libya; each on their own personal journey, whilst a tabloid reporter awaits them on the beaches of Greece, seeking stories to fit a cynical narrative about the Syrian refugee crisis. Of Our Own Making examines our judgement of perpetrators in light of complex circumstances.

What is Of Our Own Making about?

Of Our Own Making was originally about the refugee crisis, but after a while it transformed into a play about radicalisation, masculinity, the Iraq war, ISIS and Brexit. All the characters have complex stories and we’re asked to look past the easy and simplistic viewpoints that the press and the politicians use to manipulate the people, and see into the three-dimensional lives of both those we see in the headlines, and those writing the headlines. Once in full view, we can then ask ourselves what our own part is, in creating “monsters” such as ISIS, the refugee crisis itself, the tabloid press and those who become radicalised.

Where did the idea come from?

In June 2016, the Brexit vote had taken place, and Something Underground had just finished a run of our latest play about the Holocaust called A Good Jew. After our wrap dinner in Brighton the cast and I stood on the beach facing south over the channel. I suddenly had an image that we were actually a group of refugees standing on the Libyan coast facing north over the Mediterranean.

This strong image stuck with me and became the opening scene of what was then called I Refugee. The Paris and Nice truck attacks had also recently occurred and these were strong in my mind. Unbeknownst to us, Trump was about to be elected and his son had recently tweeted, comparing skittles to refugees and how some of them might be poisonous, dangerous and a threat to life.

Why did you want to tell this story?

I have many reasons to tell the story. They include having children who are half German, feeling saddened and disenfranchised by the Brexit vote, and the fears stoked up by the tabloids and by Trump and his family. Hearing people like Gavin Williamson describe radicalised children as “legitimate targets” with no recourse to redemption or understanding. The unwillingness of the west invariably to take responsibility for its own part in the creation of the Syrian refugee crisis, or the phenomenon that is ISIS.

Of Our Own Making deals with hard hitting subject matters, where did you draw from?

I read a lot and kept apace with the news. I have family in Germany and know how the refugee crisis has affected Germany and people in the villages there. For the issues that referred to masculinity and the condition of young boys, I have had a long history of working with excluded boys and prison inmates, and Mark Nightingales from A Band of Brothers (an organisation working with young men involved in the criminal justice system) came on board to share his insights as well.

I read The Brothers Are But Believers by Javaad Alipoor, which includes a line that said radicalisation is being driven and fed by a crisis in masculinity; when I read that I knew that I had found the angle of the play that I had a deeper understanding of. I immediately recognised what the playwright was talking about. The idea that isolated and vulnerable young men, socially insulated, playing online games late at night; they were extremely vulnerable. It was clear to see how young men get drawn into gangs, far right extremist movements and jihadist groups.

How does Of Our Own Making link, if it does, to your other written work?

Well, it is the next step in a progression. My last full play was about the Holocaust, which was as challenging a subject as I’d tackled before. Of Our Own Making felt like the next step. Added to this, much of my earlier work was focused around men’s identity, fatherhood, childhood and similar issues. Hence, it felt natural to once again discover that the play I had written echoed some of those themes again.

How do you hope the play will contribute to the conversations in the UK at the moment?

I want the play to first of all remind us that we can continue to question our own part in the making of monsters such as ISIS, radicalised fighters, and the refugee crisis; alongside the Iraq war and other crises around the world. I also really want the audience to think about the complex and three-dimensional lives of those that the press, the media so easily paint as two-dimensional and evil.

LISTINGS

Tara Theatre, 356 Garratt Lane, Earlsfield, London SW18 4ES

30 Jan to 16 Feb, Mon – Sat, 7.30pm
Weds & Sat matinees 2.30pm

£17.50 (£13.50 concs, U25s £10)
www.tara-arts.com | 020 8333 4457

Running Time: 2hrs 15 mins incl interval

Suitable for ages 13+