REVIEW: BLOOD GOLD AND OIL at Upstairs at the Gatehouse 25 – 30 April 2023

‘Colonialism, greed and ghostly goings on’ ★★

Present day. The ghost of TE Lawrence looks on as archaeologist Dr Caroline Howard and gallery assistant Muzz lay out finds from a dig in the Middle East for an exhibition.
 
Howard is colonial, patronising and at times downright racist to Muzz who takes her behaviour on the chin, with occasional sparks of defiance. Howard has been obsessed with TE Lawrence from childhood, and as the play progresses his ghost appears to her, and they debate the nature of his psyche. He wants to set the record straight and Muzz - who can also now see Lawrence’s ghost - is brought in to film his confessional on his mobile phone. Lawrence shares the story of the Arab campaign in World War One, made famous by Peter O’Toole in David Lean’s film Lawrence of Arabia. Lawrence decries the treachery of the British whose greed for oil led to actions that planted the seeds of modern conflict in the region.
 
The ambition of the play was admirable. It had a political point to make and it made it. Repeatedly. What was sacrificed was a solid narrative. Different elements of what could have made a central narrative swirled around without ever landing: an archaeologist obsessed with Lawrence, a history of the life of TE Lawrence, the destructive force of British colonialism, modern day colonialism in archaeology, the place of TE Lawrence in the history, how the British messed up the Middle East to name but a few. At one point there was much name dropping of Edwardian notables, which would have been more interesting if those references had led somewhere.
 
Opening night nerves affected some performances, but David Clarke-Wood as TE Lawrence commanded the stage effortlessly and gave some much needed grounding to the play with his performance. It was a lovely touch to allow the audience to look at and handle some of the original artifacts that were used as props, once the play was over.
 
TE Lawrence is such a fascinating character with his contradictions and complexities. That period in history is equally fascinating and heartbreaking. Sadly, this play shone very little light on Lawrence or his world, beyond the platitudinal, which made it feel like a missed opportunity. What a shame.

BLOOD GOLD AND OIL by Jan Woolf, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, 25 – 30 April 2023 

Tues – Sat, 7.30pm, Sun 4pm | Running Time: 75 minutes 

£20 - £16 | www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com | 020 8340 3488 

Performers:                             Suzanna Wood, Douglas Clarke-Hamilton, Mascuud

Dahir

Writer:                                      Jan Woolf

Director:                        Isaac Bernier-Doyle               

Reviewer: Srabani Sen

Srabani is a theatre actress and playwright. As an actress she has performed at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse (The Globe), the Arcola, Southwark Playhouse, The Pleasance and numerous fringe theatres, in a range of roles from Shakespeare to plays by new and emerging writers. She has written several short and full length plays. Her play Tawaif was longlisted for the ETPEP Finborough award, and her play Vijaya was shortlisted for the Sultan Padamsee Playwrights Award in Mumbai.