EDINBURGH 2013 - BWW Reviews: THE RADICALISATION OF BRADLEY MANNING, Pleasance At St Thomas of Aquin's High School, August 8 2013

The topical story of Bradley Manning, the young US soldier responsible for leaking millions of military documents and now facing a lifetime in prison, is brought to the stage in a new production by The National Theatre of Wales, which examines what brought an American teenager at school in Wales to become the key figure in one of the most controversial stories in the world today.

Tim Price's "The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning" was announced this week as the inaugural winner of the James Tait Black Prize for Drama, the first time theatre has been considered as a category in the long-running literary awards. It's an exceptionally timely piece, with Manning's conviction on July 30th on twenty charges relating to the US secrets he released to Wikileaks, and also with the continuing plight of NSA secrets leaker Edward Snowden.

Skilfully directed by John E McGrath, episodes from Manning's life, based on actual occurrences and an imagined take on his school life in Wales, are created by an energetic ensemble of six actors. The production is slick and effective, with the cast sliding effortlessly between scenes and characters, and excellent effects drawing the audience in to a close engagement with the material from the moment they enter the venue.

Not only is this a tale of events happening half a world away, but Price's fictional dramatisation of Manning's schooldays casts him as the latest in a long line of Welsh martyrs and those who protested against unjust authority. The audience are left under little illusion that Manning's apparent realisation of his long-held wish to "make the world a better place" has come at great cost, particularly through a hard-hitting scene of the young soldier on suicide watch being constantly checked on as he begins to unravel within his tiny cell, where the audience knows he is sentenced to remain for decades to come.

Immediate, engaging and deftly performed, "The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning" is precisely the sort of theatre one hopes to see on the Fringe.

The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning runs until August 25th (not 11, 14 or 21) at Pleasance at St Thomas of Aquin's High School.

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