Grenfell play divides survivors and social media

Some say timing of play is ‘shameful’ but activists say production will help spark needed discussions around the 2017 tragedy

Criticism has been raised around the play’s release as justice is still being sought (Getty)

A play based on the Grenfell Tower inquiry has divided opinion for being produced while the inquiry into the 2017 tragedy is still ongoing.

The theatre production, Grenfell: Value Engineering – Scenes From The Inquiry, will explore the decisions that preceded the fire as well as re-enacting scenes from the inquiry, led by retired judge Sir Martin Moore-Bick.

The play received backlash online following an announcement of its cast last week, with some social media users calling the play “disgusting” and “shameful” for opening while the real inquiry is still ongoing.

Writer and campaigner Gina Martin wrote on Twitter: “Unless all the money is going to the families and individuals affected who still don’t have justice, I don’t want to see a theatre production make any money off the back of a horrendous tragedy that happened only FOUR years ago.”

Sir Martin Moore-Bick is leading the ongoing public inquiry into the 2017 fire (AFP/Getty)

Candace Carty-Williams, writer of the highly acclaimed book Queenie, added: “So four years on, instead of any form of justice for the victims, we have a stage play that places whiteness at the centre of this enduring tragedy? Who called for this? Who is the intended audience?”

Another user added: “We need to immediately raise our voices against this. How on earth???? RT this and let's STOP THIS! Respect the victims!”

Ron Cook, who featured in Netflix series The Witcher, is set to play lead counsel to the Grenfell inquiry, Richard Millet QC.

But residents in Grenfell’s North Kensington community, on the other hand, have welcomed the play as a way to help the public understand how the inquiry into the fire has impacted the community.

Justice4Grenfell campaigner Moyra Samuels plans to attend the play when it opens in October.

“It’s really good if you want an insight into the impact of the inquiry on the bereaved and the community,” Ms Samuels told The Independent.

The activist, who also works with the Grenfell Health and Wellbeing Service, added: “I thought it would be a useful way of engendering discussion about the issues that are very obvious to some of us around what exactly some of the key decisions were around Grenfell – they were around value engineering.

“If you want to be supporting the bereaved and the community, it’s important to know the triggering things from the inquiry.”

The production, set to open on 13 October, is reported to be based entirely on words from the inquiry. The Tabernacle, not far from Grenfell Tower, is to be one of two locations showing the play, along with the Birmingham Rep Theatre.

The play is produced by Nick of Time Productions, and edited and directed by Richard Norton-Taylor and Nicolas Kent, respectively. The pair worked together on the 1999 play The Colour of Justice – The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.

Norton-Taylor said: “What has emerged from the inquiry is an extraordinary catalogue of greed, fraud, cheating and lying, secret fixing of fire tests on their products, subtle layers of corruption and racism, fatal cost-cutting, casual indifference, and practices which one young company executive called ‘completely unethical’ and which some even joked about.

“The evidence in the Grenfell inquiry reflects many of the problems deeply embedded in contemporary British society. I believe that presenting it to a theatre audience will lead to a wider understanding of the story behind a fire whose repercussions will be felt for many years.”

A spokesperson from Nick of Time Productions, said: “The Grenfell inquiry is one of the most important public inquiries of the past two decades. It is a powerful example of the investigatory reach of the law and its ability to call people to account. It is of profound importance to the survivors of the tragedy and their families.

“The tragedy has also left an estimated 700,000 people still trapped in dangerous homes and has revealed hazardous construction problems going back many years that are now preventing three million others from selling their flats. The inquiry’s work has huge repercussions for present policy and better future regulation for millions of people living in social or private housing in the UK.

“The inquiry has now been running for four years. This edited verbatim account of the inquiry is aimed at giving the public a clearer overview and access to the evidence.”