''The Trainer'' is a play by David Wilson and Anne Aylor (with writing contributions from composer

Keith Burstein Keith Burstein born 1957 as Keith Burston (the anglicised form adopted by his father of the surname, which Burstein later dropped) is an English composer, conductor and music theorist with Russian family origins. He is noted for his fervent cha ...

Description

''The Trainer'' is a multi-media play set in a posh gym in the basement of a gentlemen’s club, punctuated with excerpts from the (real life) opera ''

Manifest Destiny Manifest destiny was a cultural belief in the 19th century in the United States, 19th-century United States that American settlers were destined to expand across North America. There were three basic tenets to the concept: * The special vir ...

'', news footage from Gaza and inane breakfast TV programmes. It delivers a darkly comical comment on the justice system, while at the same time highlighting the struggles taking place both in Gaza and in the UK and other Western countries to defend humanity from barbarism.

Synopsis

The play explores the love story between a British Jew, Josh, and his Palestinian fiancée Taghreed (who works as a fitness trainer at the gym in a London gentlemen's club). Their story is interwoven with a predominantly fact-based account of the real-life bankruptcy of British composer

(as the result of a libel trial relating to issues of alleged promotion of terrorism) as told by the attendees of the gym in which Taghreed works (all of whom happen to be Judges of the Court of Appeal).

Background

After

and

Dic Edwards Dic Edwards (born 1948) is a British playwright, poet and teacher of creative writing. His writing often touches upon political and social issues, nationalism and democracy. Early life Edwards was born in Cardiff. He was educated at Whitchurch Hi ...

’ opera ''

'' was performed at the

2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' newspaper published a review which claimed that the opera glorified terrorism. Burstein subsequently took the newspaper to court on the grounds that this claim put him at risk under the terms of the Terrorism Acts of 2005 and 2006. The High Court found in his favour and granted him the right to take the case to a trial by jury. However, this decision was reversed in the Court of Appeal, which ordered Burstein to pay the legal costs of the ''

'' (some £70,000). In consequence, Burstein was bankrupted and the Official Receiver seized possession of all of his works (including ''

''). The court case and its aftermath inspired David Wilson and Anne Aylor (in collaboration with Burstein) to write ''The Trainer''. The play covers a fictionalised version of the events of the trial, in parallel with a separate plot strand similar to one used in ''

'' (that of an educated Palestinian woman with a Jewish lover, driven towards acts of violence in response to the state violence demonstrated in the Middle Eastern conflicts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries).

Performance history

''The Trainer'' premiered at Oxford House, London, in March 2009. Actors involved included Corin Redgrave,

Tim Pigott-Smith Timothy Peter Pigott-Smith, (13 May 1946 – 7 April 2017) was an English film and television actor and author. He was best known for his leading role as Ronald Merrick in the television drama series '' The Jewel in the Crown'', for which he wo ...

and Lebanese-American actress Jana Zeineddine. Following rewrites, ''The Trainer'' was revived for the fundraising evening ''Two Plays For Gaza'' on May 21, 2009 at the

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in Lon ...

theatre in London, UKBrave acts for victims of war TWO PLAYS FOR GAZA Hackney Empire
28 May 2009, The Review - THEATRE by MICHAEL MANN, ''www.thecnj.com'', accessed 17 September 2022 (which also featured a performance of

Caryl Churchill Caryl Lesley Churchill (born 3 September 1938) is a British playwright known for dramatising the abuses of power, for her use of non- naturalistic techniques, and for her exploration of sexual politics and feminist themes.

's play ''

Seven Jewish Children ''Seven Jewish Children: A Play for Gaza'' is a six-page, 10-minute play by British playwright Caryl Churchill, written in response to the 2008-2009 Israel military strike on Gaza, and first performed at London's Royal Court Theatre on 6 February ...

'', talks by

Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. ...

and Ben Griffin, and music from

Reem Kelani Reem Kelani (born 1963) is a British Arabs, British Palestinian musician, born in Manchester, England. Initially influenced by the jazz music her father played on his record player, her interest in Palestinian music was sparked by the music at ...

and hip-hop poet Lowkey). For this production, actors

Janie Dee Janie Dee (born 20 June 1962) is an English actress and singer. She won the Olivier Award for Best Actress, Evening Standard Award and Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Play, and in New York the Obie and Theatre World Award fo ...

and Roger Lloyd-Pack joined the cast. Both productions were directed by Tom Platten.

References

External links

Barebones Productions (UK)
- production company handling ''The Trainer''
Anne Aylor's homepageKeith Burstein's homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trainer 2009 plays British plays Fiction about Jews and Judaism Plays based on actual events Plays set in London Plays about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict