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On 3 January 1946 William Joyce, an American by birth, was executed in Wandsworth prison for betraying Britain. The career of Lord Haw-Haw, broadcaster and Nazi propagandist, came to an end. His ?Germany Calling' broadcasts were the first time the enemy had been heard in the home during a war. At first a figure of fun, then of hate and fear. He was a radio star. An urban legend, who was alleged to have near-omnipotent knowledge of military and political events. Thus was the power of the listener's imagination to create Lord Haw-Haw. The play tracks William Joyce's life from 1939 until his death, interlinked with Harry Hawkins, a Variety/Music Hall artist who achieves fame by his comic act as Lord Haw-Haw. In this way Harry represents and reflects the English public opinion of Lord Haw-Haw; his slide from funny during "the Phoney War" to hated figure during the Blitz. And to his execution. A sentence achieved only by changing the law, though many experts today believe legal precedence was twisted so that he could be hung. William Joyce had to be executed so the Lord Haw-Haw could be put to rest in the mind of the public.

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Author: Richard Fitchett