Us/Them (NHB Modern Plays)

This is an extraordinary, award-winning account of the Beslan School Siege, exploring the entirely individual way children cope with traumatic situations. In September 2004, a group of terrorists stormed School Number One in Beslan, Russia, taking hundreds of children, their parents and teachers hostage. The ensuing siege lasted three days and left many dead. Us/Them is not a straightforward account of this terrible tragedy, but an exploration of the entirely individual way children cope with traumatic situations. Originally created for BRONKS, a theatre company for young audiences, Us/Them had a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016, winning a Scotsman Fringe First Award, and transferred to the National Theatre, London, in 2017. It was co-produced by BRONKS and Richard Jordan Productions, with Theatre Royal Plymouth and Big in Belgium, in association with Summerhall. 'A remarkable piece of theatre – playful, surprisingly and painfully funny as well as moving' - Guardian 'A truly outstanding piece of theatre for all ages... [makes] an inhuman ordeal somehow understandable, filtered through this very modern, accessible retelling' - The Stage 'Haunting, unforgettable... the highlight of the Fringe' - Telegraph 'Dazzlingly confident and utterly absorbing... presents [its] story masterfully' - Scotsman 'An innovative piece of theatrical storytelling... the bare facts of this terrible episode are well known, but the story is given such bold, off-centre treatment in [Us/Them] that it inspires a much deeper consideration of the massacre, its context and implications, than a simple dramatisation could hope to achieve' - The Times 'Remarkable – powerful and quietly shocking, certainly, but also one that dares to be entertaining and absurd, even playful' - The List Carly Wijs's Us/Them is a play about the 2004 Beslan School Siege, exploring the ways in which children cope with highly traumatic situations. In September 2004, a group of terrorists stormed School Number One in Beslan, Russia, taking hundreds of children, their parents and teachers hostage. The ensuing siege lasted three days and left many dead. In Us/Them, two children, Girl and Boy, give a meticulously detailed account of the events of the siege, chalking out the layout of the school on the floor, scrawling facts on the blackboard, and bursting balloons to represent explosions. They use string to represent the tripwires set up by the terrorists, manoeuvring themselves through the tiny spaces in between. The act of remembering and recounting the events of the siege is treated like a game, played with the utmost seriousness London Premiere For The Smash-hit Of The 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.