FIRST NIGHT REVIEW

Theatre: What Shadows at Birmingham Rep

A visceral new play that explores Enoch Powell’s explosive ‘Rivers of Blood’ speech and the friendships that were wrecked by it
Ian McDiarmid, left, as Enoch Powell and George Costigan as his friend, the journalist Clem Jones
Ian McDiarmid, left, as Enoch Powell and George Costigan as his friend, the journalist Clem Jones
ELLIE KURTTZ

Puzzles

Challenge yourself with today’s puzzles.

Puzzle thumbnail

Crossword

Puzzle thumbnail

Polygon

Puzzle thumbnail

Sudoku

★★★★☆
Enoch Powell is sitting on a blanket, having a picnic with his friend, the journalist Clem Jones. It’s 1967. The birds are singing. Powell is 55, dressed in archetypal Tory tweeds and flat cap. Why, he wonders, does no one listen to his speeches? “As a journalist, would you describe my speeches as difficult or arcane?” he asks Jones, who is the editor of the Wolverhampton Express and Star. “The ones I’ve read,” notes Jones, “I’ve never finished.”

This visceral new play by Chris Hannan is the story of Powell’s explosive “Rivers of Blood” speech, given on April 20, 1968 at the Midland Hotel in Birmingham. Yet it is much more than that. It is also the story of a friendship, between Powell