GW Theatre Company Present – One Extreme To The Other

by Mike Harris

This sharply relevant ‘state of the nation’ play has toured nationally for a number of years into schools, colleges, prisons, theatre, and community venues with huge success and impact. It remains available on demand. It is a calling card for GW’s unique capacity to turn urgent pressing issues into powerful and memorable theatre.

Ali’s got mixed up with an Islamic extremist, his former friend Tony is flirting with the racist far right, unemployment is rising, there’s been another terrorist attack in London and a far right party is organising a march through Ali’s neighbourhood. Will Tony march? Will Ali fight? Can his sister Sara make him find another way? Will journalist Jessica, who once went out with both Ali and Tony, use their joint past to get a scoop on the threatened riots, or will she put principles before her career and try to stop the threatened clash?

Aimed at young people aged 14-25 and adult audiences too, One Extreme to the Other offers a powerful theatrical stimulus to debate and a comprehensive multi-media follow-up package to inform further discussion and lead in good practice. We have developed an essential educational tool for anyone seeking to tackle this complex issue.

Targeted at schools, colleges, community venues and theatres, developed with young people, teachers, local government agencies, and people on the ground as part of an urgent human requirement to help young people and their elders to understand and challenge all forms of extremism.

No difficult issues are dodged but in the end One Extreme to the Other stresses above all what unites rather than divides us, and asks the audience at the end: we have a future in common, what do we do about it?