ArchEnders

#TheArchers Loxfest will rival Glastonbury

We drop in on Roy Tucker, Festival Organiser Extraordinaire, as he takes a call about the forthcoming music festival at Lower Loxley...

2014 voting intentions of The Archers

Adam Macy	I really don't have time for this rubbish.
Alice Carter	I should vote really, but it sounds soooo boring.
Brian Aldridge	Conservative, of course. Good for business.
Debbie Aldridge	Demokratikus Koalíció.
Ian Craig	They're all as bad as each other, aren't they? Now if you'll excuse me...
Jennifer Aldridge	Conservative. Silly question.
Peggy Woolley	I've always voted Conservative, but I do think Nigel Farage makes some good points.
Helen Archer	I'd like to vote for the Greens, but Rob says they're economically naïve. Henry! Don't do that! What was I saying? Oh, well... HENRY! Er, that's a text from Rob. Sorry I need to go...
Pat Archer	Green. Why aren't you voting Green? You really should. Here, let me find a leaflet for you. No, don't go... it's here somewhere...
Tom Archer	What? I can't think about that now.
Tony Archer	Those leeks aren't going to plant themselves. If you wouldn't mind getting out of the way...
David Archer	I'm still thinking about it.
Jill Archer	Well of course one *should* vote. But it's a secret ballot, isn't it? I don't know too much about them all. I'm not sure. Oh dear. Maybe you should ask someone else.
Pip Archer	Spencer says if voting changed anything they'd abolish it.
Ruth Archer	I'm vo'in' with mi conscience. Labour.
Christopher Carter	I leave that kind of stuff to Alice. Bit hot isn't it? I'll just take this t-shirt off.
Neil Carter	Well there's a lot to be said for the Liberal Democrats, but they haven't exactly covered themselves in glory recently. I probably won't vote this time.
Susan Carter	UKIP. They're the only ones talking about immigration. And when it comes down to it, what has Europe ever done for us?
Alan Franks	It is, of course, our civic duty to vote. And I'd urge everyone to do so.
Amy Franks	Labour. The Tories and LimpDems are destroying the NHS. I wish I could vote for the NHA, but they're London only.
Usha Franks	It's interesting how people forget it's a European election. National issues aren't the point. So the question is: Which person is most likely to be a sensible, hard-working MEP in Brussels? I'm reading the manifestos, but it's difficult to tell. Not UKIP or the Tories, for sure.
Clarrie Grundy	Oi loikes moi peas wiv hunny. Oi've done it all me loife. They do taste rather funny, but it keeps 'em on me knoife. What was the question?
Ed Grundy	What election? Are you 'avin' a laugh? Why would I care about that?
Eddie Grundy	Bloimey. Buy me a pint o' Shires and I'll tell you.
Emma Grundy	What did Nic say? I bet she's voting Monster Raving Loony. No sense, that one.
Joe Grundy	My generation and me dad's generation fought two World Wars for the right to vote. Look at them folk in South Africa, walking for days then queuing for hours to vote. The young 'uns 'ere couldn't care less. Bloody disgrace, if you ask me. Mind you, the politicians aren't up to much. That Nigel Farridge, he's a rum 'un, and as for...
Nic Grundy	Oh I don't really know anything about that. Have you seen George anywhere? George? George? Now I've lost Jake. Jake? Jake?
Will Grundy	What's it to you? I know who I'm voting for. UKIP. That's who. Now get off this land. It's private property.
Alistair Lloyd	I haven't given it much thought.
Dan Hebden Lloyd	I probably won't vote.
Jim Lloyd	Although the phrase is sometimes wrongly attributed to Plato, it was in fact the satirist Juvenal who coined the question "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Now which party is best placed to protect our civil liberties? Have a think about it, and get back to me.
Shula Hebden Lloyd	I really don't have time for this. Molly! Keep those reins tight! Now if there isn’t anything else… Back straight!
Elizabeth Pargetter	I don't think it's appropriate for me to say. Have you tried the scones in The Orangery? They're very good.
Derek Fletcher	(no response)
Kathy Perks	I know it's a cliché but they are really all as bad as each other. Jamie! Jamie!
Jamie Perks	I can vote? Wow. Probably won't.
Lynda Snell	My postal vote was sent some weeks ago, but I prefer not to divulge my own particular preference. Nevertheless it is so very important to vote, isn't it?
Robert Snell	I keep forgetting to vote.
Caroline Sterling	Lynda at reception can probably help you with that.
Oliver Sterling	That Tory chap is very clubbable. And a strong supporter of the hunt, too. Sherry?
Brenda Tucker	I've thought long and hard about it. And I've decided not to vote. Unless any of them are fit.
Hayley Tucker	It's all a bit confusing isn't it?
Mike Tucker	Can't be bothered with that rubbish.
Roy Tucker	Conservative or UKIP. Haven't decided yet.
Vicky Tucker	It's so exciting, isn't it? I love elections. All those rosettes and speeches and knocking on doors... the argy-bargy... And you never know who's going to win! I love looking at the faces when they're standing there and trying to guess who's won. I'm very good at guessing, aren't I Mike? And they do take it all so seriously! I always say: If you can't have a laugh, what's the point? Don't I Mike? Don't I always say that? Ooh I do like your top. Is that Marks? Look! There's Susan. Susan! Susan! Have you seen this top?
Bert Fry	On the twenty-second of May / We can all 'ave our say. / I've got to get back to me shallots / So no more talk of ballots.
Freda Fry	(No response)
Christine Barford	It's all a bit beyond me these days. Do any of them want to help the countryside?
Fallon Rogers	Those FibDems are right out! And Labour's not much better. Never voting Tory or UKIP of course. Who does that leave? Probably won't bother.
PC Burns	I'm a police officer, so I'm not at liberty to say. I can tell you, though, that you are very much parked on a double-yellow.
Jazzer McCreary	SNP, of course. What d'yer mean I canna vote for them in Borsetshire? That's so racist. I'll tell yer what, buy us a pint an' I'll tell yer me second choice.
Jolene Archer	I don't hold with voting. Lots of hot air. Nothing gets done.
Kenton Archer	I will get round to it, I promise. Was it a half or a pint?
Kirsty Miller	AIEEEEEAAAARGH!!
Lilian Bellamy	Conservative of course, darling, as always. Do you have a light?
Matt Crawford	Who are you? Why should I tell you anything? Oh, pollster, eh? Mug's game.
Darrell Makepeace	I don't need any trouble. I'm fine, me.
Rob Titchener	Let me see your clipboard. Uhuh. Uhuh. Some of these people are lying to you. She's voting Conservative. He's not voting. He's voting Green, whatever he tells you. He's not got a clue. Look, let me correct some of these for you. It's no trouble.

---

• "BBC reveals how the Archers upset leading politicians" by  Jonathan Wynne-Jones

• "If only soap operas didn't wash their hands of politics" by Polly Toynbee

• "Politics in the Archers" - Vanessa Whitburn, former Archers Editor, debates with Polly Toynbee

• "Keep your filthy tribal hands off The Archers, Polly" by Ruth Dudley Edwards

• "The Politics of Ambridge" - 2-part Radio 4 documentary by Michael Dobbs

• Discussion of politics in The Archers on the old messageboard

The Daleks in Ambridge

And now on The Archers, a crossover with Doctor Who leads to tragedy at Ambridge View...

Patrick the organist might have had a hidden agenda

On #TheArchers when Tom jilted Kirsty in the church, Kirsty's good friend Patrick was the organist. It occurred to me that he might not be an entirely disinterested party. Listen carefully to this clip see if you can detect a hidden agenda.

Not Spooks meets The Mousetrap

Review of "Ciphers" by Dawn King, directed by Blanche McIntyre
Northcott Theatre, Exeter, 16 October 2013

A woman named Justine has a job interview with an unidentified organization. It takes us a while to work out what this organization does. She then has an interview with another unidentified organization.

Or is it her? She's now called Julya and has a completely different biography. And wait, which interview happened first? We soon learn that scenes are not sequential. She then appears to be investigating how Justine died. No, different woman: her name is Keri and she's Justine's sister.

In Dawn King's second play "Ciphers", directed by 2013 UK Theatre Awards Best Director nominee Blanche McIntyre, the audience has to work hard throughout, though the clues are all there.

A large component of what we have to work out is the stuff of Le Carré, Fleming, Christie & even Spooks. But another component of the decoding is to do with the decision to double up all the parts. Is this the same woman as earlier playing a role, or the actress playing a different part? I'd be really curious as to whether the playwright and director intended us to be concerned with the latter question. In a play focused on identity, this decision caused a distancing effect that I'm not sure I found enhanced the drama.

That said then, all credit to the actors and director for keeping us engaged. The spectres (as it were) of Smiley, Bond, Harry Pearce et al. are easily banished. If on opening night the actors lacked in places the confidence to inhabit their characters completely convincingly, they are a talented troupe and this confidence will quickly come. The minimalist set design is clever, and nicely suits a theatre of the Northcott's size. The use of sound is nicely judged, and the direction is assured.

The script also has a few subtle tricks up its sleeve. I confess when the final applause began I had not worked out what exactly had happened. Or rather, I had worked out a simple narrative that fitted the facts, albeit in an unsatisfyingly "so what?" kind of way. It was only when talking it over, walking home, that I suddenly realized I had missed the true significance of the two final scenes. Various red herrings, loose ends, odd comments, and unconnected events were nothing of the sort: The pieces of Justine's life and death fitted together neatly after all.

So - a puzzle solved satisfyingly (unless there are alternative narratives I've missed!) - but does this ultimately make a satisfying play? Do we learn anything about human nature beyond that being in the spying game can do weird things to your moral compass? Are we moved by the characters?

I'm not sure. But the question of Justine's motivations are at the heart of what makes the play worth seeing: at various times, she gives diverse reasons why she is doing the job she is doing, as if she is desperate to rise above being just a pawn in a great game. Yet if ultimately she turns out to be a sacrificed pawn, do her motives and legacy have to remain forever unknown? Justine might not be a cipher; but is she an enigma?

Ciphers is on at the Northcott Theatre, Exeter until Oct 19 and tours until Feb 15. www.outofjoint.co.uk


Acknowledgement: I'm grateful to the Northcott Theatre for supplying my tickets to the play.

Update 3 Nov 2013: The professional critics have now done their thing. See Michael Billington's 4-star review in The Guardian and slightly less glowing reviews in The Times, The Mail, The Stage and What's On Stage. There seem to be divergent views about the strengths and weaknesses of the play.