Grenfell: Value Engineering at The Tabernacle

©Tristram Kenton

“The Grenfell fire did not happen in a vacuum… it happened within a pocket of one of the smallest yet richest boroughs in London.”
Leslie Thomas QC in evidence to the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry, July 2020

The dramatic evidence, based entirely on the words of those involved in the current Grenfell Tower Inquiry, is brought to the stage by the creative team responsible for the dramatisation of The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry – The Colour of Justice at the Tricycle Theatre, the National Theatre, in the West End and on BBC TV, and the Olivier Award-winning Saville Inquiry play Bloody Sunday.

“It’s one thing to work out how the fire was caused, and how the deaths were caused; the bigger question is: why did this happen?”
 Michael Mansfield QC at the Inquiry, March 2021

Grenfell: Value Engineering written and created before the conclusion of the Grenfell enquiry, is formed entirely with verbatim quotes from the enquiry itself.  Carefully edited by Richard Norton-Taylor it brings together highlights of the investigation in a way that is powerful, emotional and at times shocking.

This recreated courtroom drama is so well performed that at times it is hard to distinguish the performers from the real people interviewed in the enquiry, which results in the audience bubbling over with frustration at their unsatisfying responses and lack of accountability of their role in this tragedy.

I have to admit before the play started I was confused about what this could add, given that it is an exact reproduction of scenes from the court, with no additions.  However soon into watching it, I realised that in fact, this is exactly how it should be.  Anything added would take away from the real drama as it unfolds.  The real genius here is in the clever editing, cutting down years worth of court testimonies into a play just short of 3 hours which allows the audience to connect all the dots, make sense of complex topics and provide a full performance of something that is as of yet incomplete.  The use of video and image evidence, the same as was shown in the enquiry, also helps with this.

©Tristram Kenton 10-21

The residence of Grenfell Tower who were affected by this tragedy, whether by losing their lives, their homes or the lives of their loved ones, are always at the centre of this piece.  It almost feels like they are in the room with you and nothing is ever overdramatised to lose sight of this.

Leaving the theatre at the end of this performance I was struck to notice the remnants of the Grenfell Tower still lit up, dominating the skyline in the near distance.  So, moved by this performance, I found myself taking the 15-minute walk to the site to show my respect at the memorial which still stands under the tower.  I’d recommend this to anyone visiting the show to see for yourself the real scale of what happened when prioritising money and aesthetics over human lives crashes together in the most awful way.

This isn’t going to be a show for everyone but if you want to know the true insight into the tragedy I highly recommend this show.  Grenfell: Value Engineering is on at The Tabernacle Theatre until the 13th of November and tickets start from £15 or between £2-£5 for those living around Grenfell.