NUCLEAR SHOW LOOKS SET TO BE EXPLOSIVE
A show which aims to get people to think about the nuclear question is coming to Stirling.
Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, or Faslane, situated 40 miles outside Glasgow, is home to Trident, the UK’s nuclear missile programme.
With family having worked in Faslane all her life, and friends protesting at the gates, Jenna Watt explores what happens when the personal and political collide.
“I hadn’t been that aware it was something really important until the Independence Referendum came about,” Jenna told the Observer.
“Everyone was talking about Trident and Faslane. It suddenly dawned on me that this affected my family. I realised then how big a thing it was, and I wanted to go out and get more information.”
Faslane visits the Macrobert on Thursday April 13, and Jenna said it allows the audience to think about the issues involved without having opinions forced upon them. She added: “I wanted to create a piece that people could come along and hear different aspects of the debate. They can listen and feel that one opinion or side isn’t being forced upon them.”
Drawing upon interviews with individuals at the front line of the nuclear debate and featuring an immersive sound design by Kim Moore, Jenna navigates her own journey through the politics, protests and peace camps.
It is a deeply personal yet meticulously researched take on the nuclear debate, delving into not only the global politics of Trident, but also the personal struggle of taking a stance on this most divisive of issues.
Rejecting a didactic approach, Faslane invites audience members to question their own thoughts on the issue, and to interrogate just what a nuclear deterrent really means.
The piece represents the culmination of years of research including multiple trips to Faslane, countless Freedom of Information requests, interviews with current and former Ministry of Defence staff and activists as well as forays into the world of activism by Jenna herself.
She said: “It was before the referendum, maybe June 2014 that I started looking in to this area.
“The show ended up being commissioned by a group called Contact in Manchester as a pilot.
“That was performed in May of last year, so it took two years to come together. I wanted to take it to the Edinburgh Festival and now I’m looking forward to going on tour.”