Details

About the lead up to the Partition of India to create Pakistan and the India we now know. In 1947 Mr Justice Cyril Radcliffe was summoned by the Prime Minister from the Court where he was presiding and given an extraordinary mission. He was to travel to India, a country he had never visited and of which he had almost no knowledge, and, with limited survey information, no expert support and no knowledge of cartography, to draw the border which would divide the Indian sub-continent into two new Sovereign Dominions: India and Pakistan. And he had only six weeks in which to complete the task. Wholly unsuited to his role, Radcliffe was unprepared for the dangerous whirlpool of political intrigue and passion into which he was plunged; one of religious and racial turmoil, blood feuds and even an illicit liaison between the Leader of the Congress Party and the Viceroy's wife. As he began to break under the pressure he came to realise that he held in his hands the fate of millions of people.

Cast/Performers

David Annen (Pethick Lawrence / Sargeant), Paul Bazely (Jinnah), Tom Beard (Cyril Radcliffe), Lucy Black (Edwina Mountbatten), Silas Carson (Nehru), Abigail Cruttenden (Antonia Radcliffe), Neil D'Souza (Mr Justice Meher / Chand Mahajan / Villager), Tanveer Ghani (Gandi / Elder / Teja Singh), Andrew Havill (Mountbatten), Salma Hogue (Dalit Woman / Kalvati), Rez Kempton (Chaudri / Aide to Nehru / Indian Photographer), John Mackay (Clement Atlee), Simon Nagra (Liaquat / Villager / Aide to Nehru / Din Mohammed), Nikesh Patel (Rao Vd Ayer / Young Man), Brendan Patricks (Christopher Beaumont), Shalini Peiris (Dali Woman / Taravati), Peter Singh (Young Man / Aide Jinnah / Lord Krishna)

Creatives/Company

Author: Howard Brenton
Producer: Hampstead Theatre
Director(s): Howard Davies, Suzanne Crowley (casting), Gilly Poole (casting)
Design: Tim Hatley
Costume: Jack Galloway
Lighting: Rick Fisher
Music: Nicki Wells
Sound: Mike Walker