Grenfell: System Failure asks further vital questions raised at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry since the critically acclaimed 2021 play Grenfell: Value Engineering, which was in The Telegraph’s 100 best cultural events of 2021, and the Observer’s top 10 productions of 2021.
Leading the company and reprising his role as Lead Counsel to the Inquiry, Richard Millett QC is Olivier-nominee Ron Cook (Andor, Inside Number. 9, Mr Selfridge, The Witcher, Faith Healer and Girl from the North Country). Also returning are Derek Elroy (Leslie Thomas QC), Sally Giles (Kate Grange QC), David Michaels (Andy Roe/Nick Hurd), and Thomas Wheatley (Sir Martin Moore-Bick).
Joining them are Nicholas Chambers (Adrian Pargeter), Sophie Duval (Sarah Colwell), Tanveer Ghani (Imran Khan), Shahzad Ali (Hisam Chouchair), Madeleine Bowyer (Deborah French) and Howard Crossley (Eric Pickles). Further casting will be announced in due course.
A piece of documentary theatre, based entirely on the words of those involved in the final phase of the Inquiry (which ended in November 2022), Grenfell: System Failure interrogates why the testing regime failed to warn of the danger of installing inflammable materials, why manufacturers promoted such products with no regard to safety, why government regulations ignored the dangers and were not updated, and why politicians failed to ensure proper oversight. Through the testimonies of bereaved residents, it explores how they were failed by the London Fire Brigade on the night and abandoned by the local authority in the chaos of the fire’s aftermath.
Grenfell: System Failure will tour to three West London venues: The Playground Theatre (18 February – 25 February), The Tabernacle (27 February – 12 March) and Marylebone Theatre (14 March – 26 March), bringing the production closer to the communities affected by the tragedy, than previously possible. More information can be found here.
This limited season is brought to the stage by the creative team responsible for Grenfell: Value Engineering at The Tabernacle and Birmingham Repertory Theatre in 2021 and on Channel 4 in 2022, The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry – The Colour of Justice at the Tricycle Theatre, the National Theatre, in the West End and on BBC TV, and the Olivier Award-winning Saville Inquiry play, Bloody Sunday.
Grenfell: System Failure has set design by Miki Jablkowska and Matt Eagland, lighting design by Matt Eagland, sound & video design by Andy Graham, costume design by Carly Brownbridge, casting by Amy Ball CDG with community liaison from Suresh Grover, and production photography by Beresford Hodge.
Alongside the production The Playground Theatre is providing an education programme. The programme, SYSTEMS, will provide local schools with information about the production alongside the contemporary issues of importance that it addresses and a wider understanding of communities, social justice, and human rights.
