Review written by Year 10 GCSE Drama Students: Margo Granger, Sophie Squires and Alex Wakefield.

At the end of last term Year 10, 11 and 12 Drama & Theatre students ventured off to Hammersmith to the Lyric Theatre to watch a modern adaptation of Accidental Death of an Anarchist. The play is a dark satire making fun of police incompetence and highlighting corruption, police brutality and cover ups within police forces worldwide. Originally based on a real event in 1970s fascist Italy where a train driver was blamed for a bombing committed by anarchists and framed for being involved (as it suited the ‘agenda’). The poor train driver was a clear victim of police brutality during his interview and he "accidentally" fell out of a window of the Milan police station. The whole incident was then covered up by the Italian police force - sadly not that dissimilar to current police corruption, cover ups and unethical conduct that is being reported by the media. This Lyric Hammersmith 2023 version of Dario Fo’s play has been modified to include references to Sarah Everard and other recent police corruption cases which made it poignant and interesting for all of us watching and reviewing for our exams. The production frequently broke the ‘4th wall’ and had multiple audience interaction moments. The play maintained a high energy and tempo throughout and was very enjoyable to watch. There were so many key moments, especially the final graphic projection sharing the shocking fact that ’1850 deaths have happened in police custody or following contact with the police in England and Wales since 1990’, that we will be able to draw from for our practical and written upcoming assessments.