Terror

Judge for yourself - what would you do?

You, the audience become the jury in this gripping and politically timely play by German playwright Ferdinand von Schirach. Premiering in 2015 in Berlin, this powerful, interactive play asks us to examine how we would behave when faced with an impossible task, as we hear the case of an air force pilot who had to make the hardest choice of all. With the threat of global terrorism very much on our minds, this internationally acclaimed production will be headed to the Hammersmith Lyric this summer.

On trial is an air force pilot who shot down a commercial jet carrying 164 people, that had been hijacked by non-specific terrorists. Following the plane over Germany, he is faced with a stark and unenviable choice; to allow the plane to continue on its path, or shoot it down. Events take a dreadful turn when the plane heads towards a packed football stadium with 70,000 attendees; at that point he chooses to down the plane. He has been charged with murder, and we are asked to decide on his verdict. The question that we are asked to consider is this; if you try to save everybody, will you lose everybody?