Little Revolution (NHB Modern Drama)

By Alecky Blythe

An important verbatim play about the 2011 London Riots, by the author of the award-winning London Road.
In the summer of 2011, London was burning. Alecky Blythe took her dictaphone to the streets'
From the helicopters circling overhead to the burnt out buildings on the street, this explosive play records the voices and stories of a community as the riots happened to their present-day aftermath.
Little Revolution premiered at the Almeida Theatre, London, in August 2014.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nick Hern Books
• Release date: Aug 28, 2014
• ISBN: 9781780014951

Alecky Blythe

Alecky Blythe founded verbatim-theatre company Recorded Delivery in 2003. The company's first production, Come Out Eli, premiered at the Arcola Theatre, London, and later transferred to the BAC (winner of the Time Out Award for Best Performance on the Fringe). Other work includes: All the Right People Come Here (New Wimbledon Theatre); Strawberry Fields (The Courtyard, Hereford); Cruising (Bush Theatre, London, 2006); The Girlfriend Experience (Royal Court Theatre, London, 2008; Young Vic, London, 2009); I Only Came Here for Six Months (KVS and Les Halles, Brussels); Do We Look Like Refugees?! (National Theatre Studio / Rustaveli Theatre, Georgia, at Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, 2010; winner of Fringe First Award); London Road, with music composed by Adam Cork (National Theatre, London, 2011 and 2012; winner of Best Musical, Critics' Circle Awards); Little Revolution (Almeida Theatre, London, 2014) and Our Generation (National Theatre / Chichester Festival Theatre, 2022). For television she has written A Man in a Box (IWC and Channel 4); The Riots: In Their Own Words (BBC2). For film she has adapted London Road into a feature (BBC Film, BFI, National Theatre).

Book preview

SECTION 1 – Riots and Steering Group

1. Riots Part 1

The real audio plays over the PA. Helicopters can be heard in the distance.

ALECKY (PA). Okay. Hackney.

Hackney.

On Monday the 8th.

After…

Tottenham.

Half-lines heard from people in the street in the background:

VOICES (PA). Someone’s put uh…

…ah yeah.

Have you been out?… No I haven’t… yeah.

…three that they smashed up actually and took the…

The clock is boarded up.

Laughter.

ALECKY (PA). I don’t s’pose I can speak to any of you? I make documentary plays, and I record conversations on here.

GIRL WHO SAYS NO (PA). I don’t wanna be on TV it’s / alright.

ALECKY (PA). / No it’s not a TV.

GIRL WHO SAYS NO (PA). Oh.

ALECKY (PA). Oh it’s just your voice would I be able to record your voice no names no pictures no I b–… What I do I is I – speak to people – no? Okay.

Half-lines heard in the soundscape:

I’m / – make documentary plays, can I talk to you for two // minutes.

GASMAN. / I’m. // I’m the gas board. I’m gas board, I’m not