The Land of Violence
July 13th 2024 saw the latest in a long line of political assassination attempts in the history of the United States of America. Donald Trump survived that flesh wound and the name of the assailant is unlikely to be remembered by many, writes Christopher Peacock.
However, those who are successful go down in the annals of history. Land of the Free, a new play by Simple8, looks at the life of the first successful murderer of a sitting US president, John Wilkes Booth.
Simple8 turn their mixture of dramatic techniques – from live music, poor theatre and mime – to tell the life story of John Wilkes Booth. Growing up in a theatrical family in Baltimore, after years on the road touring and feeling like he is not making the mark he wants on the theatrical landscape, Booth becomes disillusioned with the stage and life. His siblings begin forging more successful careers and when Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican nomination for the 1860 presidential election, Booth becomes politically engaged. This culminates in him taking his chance and changing the course of history when Lincoln attended Ford’s Theatre in Washington to watch Our American Cousin, where he could literally ‘take his shot’.
At times the show feels like a bit of a history lesson as the stripped back staging and simplistic telling plods along plotting the events of John Wilkes Booth’s life. The first act is linear and ends with the act that gave Booth his notoriety. The second act jumps back and forth post-assassination to help give more context around his life and his decisions but still feels a little slow.
The strengths of the production come from a couple of the performances that are incredibly watchable. Brandon Bassir as John Wilkes Booth looks like he was plucked straight out of one of those early portraits that Booth would hand out as an actor. Bassir’s turn in the role is confident and entertaining, if at times a little heightened, and Owen Oakeshott gives great comic performances in all of the small parts he plays with effortless presence.
In the wake of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump and the attempted insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th 2021 everybody in the American political sphere came out to denounce the attempted assassination. Often stating that there is ‘no place for violence in a democracy’. But what Simple8 do highlight here in this story of Booth’s life and his murder of President Lincoln, is that as a nation, the United States of America was not only formed and founded through violence but is constantly being shaped by it.
Southwark Playhouse Borough, 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6B until 9th November. Mon-Sat 7.30pm; Sat matinees 3pm. Admission: £25, £16.
Booking: southwarkplayhouse.co.uk – 020 740 7023
