Stuff Happens: A Play

I enjoyed David Hare's documentary play very much. Though I found it unusually disjointed, it is probably much more palatable when it is performed, and what still compelled me to give it my highest rating is the content, being the many outrageous and surreal statements made by W, Rumsfeld, Cheney, Powell, Blair, et al, as well as depictions of meetings and events, all gathered together in one place, which really helps you appreciate the systematic deception presented to the American and British people. In the Author's Note, Hare states that most events and quotes are authentic, and he thanks his sources. My guess is that he received a great deal of help/material/insight from Colin Powell, whose recollection of events is of interest. A quick but chilling read.

David Hare is the one of the best living playwrights. His research is impeccable, his plot lines believable, his characters three-dimensional and the depth of this compassion applaudable.

Everyone should read this

An interesting story, to be sure: and a powerful one. But the text feels overstuffed as a couch, and only half as comfortable. Perhaps a good stage production will bring out what I'm missing here, but it's a slow read at times.

British playwright David Hare's play about the buildup for the invasion of Iraq by the United States, Britain and some token allies, centers on the public pronouncements of the major players, George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and others. Hare simply quotes Bush, Blair, et al. while constructing dialogue for the meetings that were private. He writes in an Author's Note: "Nothing in the narrative is knowingly untrue."The result is an easy to read, easy to imagine bit of theater that underscores the mendacity and stupidity of our highest officials. How this would look on stage is left pretty much up to those who produce the play which opened at the Olivier auditorium of the National Theatre September 1, 2004. Actors are used to introduce the player about to speak, often serving as a narrative chorus. Thus, opening Scene Eight, "An Actor" says, "On September 17th the President signs an executive order authorising attacks on Afghanistan. Three days later he addresses Congress:"And then the actor playing Bush steps forward and speaks his line. Because the action moves between the White House and London, between Paris and the United Nations building in New York and elsewhere, the audience needs to be clued in some way that the scene and players have changed. Not having seen the play performed I imagine that part of the stage can be lighted while the rest is in darkness so that props indicating the next scene are set up. And then the lighting is switched, directing the audience's attention. Or in some cases players could just step forward into the spotlight to deliver their lines. The effect of this kind of play, in which the scenery and settings are minimal, is to increase the importance of the dialogue which makes the play easy to read since little in the way of visual imagination is required on the part of the reader.Colin Powell comes across as the protagonist, the man who compromises himself because he is caught between doing what he knows is right and his loyalty to his country and its institutions, especially in the form of George W. Bush, the President. Bush, contrary to the popular understanding in which is he often seen as the dupe of Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, et al., in this play often seems to be a manipulator, off to the side observing the machinations of his cabinet, making sure they say what he wants to hear. This, I believe, is partly an artifice of play that results because Hare has so much dialogue from so many players, and partly because Bush is not especially articulate and so ends up listening a lot until he elects to make his decision about what is to be done. One can see that Bush imagines himself as someone taking careful counsel and then like superman becoming the man of action, as he terms himself, in the form of "the decider."Tony Blair seems like a man who got himself into a difficult situation for no apparent reason. Condi Rice seems more like a servant to the president than a counselor. Dick Cheney is seen as totally Machiavellian, as an evil kind of man who cares nothing for the lives or feelings of other people. Rumsfeld is somewhat of an old bumbler who is caught up so much in his own mind with his own distorted view of reality that he continually tries to superimpose that reality onto others.In the end the play does not depart much from the reality that we have experience in our newspapers, on television and in documentaries. The people responsible for the hugely expensive (both in terms of lives lost and moneys spent) fiasco in Iraq are seen as executive types carefully protecting their butts and crossing their t's and dotting their i's while at the same time blinding going over the precipice.There are some exceptions. The French foreign minister Dominique de Villepin (now Prime Minister) is there to remind everybody of the folly about to happen while the arms inspector Hans Blix almost alone speaks frankly and realistically, and I might add, truthfully. Everybody else seems to look both ways politically-speaking before saying anything, and then often what they say is a falsehood, vacuous, or something stupid which will result in Rumsfeld eventually having to say (also stupidly), "Stuff happens."The "stuff" here that happens is rather deadly, but Rumsfeld, et al. seem oblivious to that fact, alone in their deluded minds.What fascinated me about this play is how easily it seems to have been composed from mostly public utterances. It is a kind of tragedy that seems to happen almost of its own accord given the character of the players.

You already know about the Iraq War, and you already know about the short-sightedness, hypocrisy, and greed that can fuel the careers of some politicians, so why spend time with this play?This play is worth your time because the playwright has pulled off the difficult feat of deftly weaving together history in an engaging way.The ironies and hypercritical actions raised up here are “enjoyable” and even “funny” in a shake-your-head-in-disbelief kind of way.This play becomes even more startling when you realize it is areal-life horror story.

The title of this decidedly anti-war play sets the stage for its theme: Asked about the looting of Baghdad, a glib Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, remarks, "Stuff happens". In the play, a core group of presidential advisors gathers, discussing a strategy for unseating Iraq's Saddam Hussein, coupling this concept with the protection of America from further terrorist attacks, such as 9/11. Carefully weighing the advantages and disadvantages, paper warriors assemble behind closed doors in a series of clandestine meetings. The result will shock the world, the birth of the Doctrine of Preemptive Strike. Caught in the "lethal rhetoric of global wealth and privilege", the discussions yield a number of assumptions; right or wrong, these assumptions will remain a footnote to history, the cause taking on a life of its own.An impressive cast of characters assembles: the Neo-cons, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice; the Brits: Tony Blair, Jack Straw, David Manning; the French, Jacques Chirac, Dominique de Villepin, Jean-David Levitte; the temporary voice of reason, Colin Powell; and the bit players, Hans Blix, Kofi Annan, Mohammed ElBaradei. The dialog goes on, endless ruminations broken only by short breaks for refreshment. Though nothing specific is articulated at this point in the play, events are set in motion, the majority of characters of the same mind. Adamant that military action is the method of last resort, the players perform a shadow dance, Kabuki Theater, their silence impregnable. Deals are made, Tony Blair mollified.Secretary of State Powell is the singular voice of reason, given to practicality where the others imagine a more ambitious goal. But Powell capitulates and the great experiment grinds into high gear. The public demands action, reaction, desperate for a salve to heal a bleeding and humiliated psyche. America signs on for a war that promises quick, deadly efficiency, convinced we are in an untenable situation that can be alleviated by the invasion of Baghdad, that only a battle joined on foreign soil will forestall another domestic attack. Public debate is nominal and weighted in favor of a preventive strike, the media virtually silent; obscured by sturm and drang, the confident counselors of a war president wax eloquent in defense of their position.David Hale brilliantly structures this great debacle, arrogant assumptions in pursuit of an idea, an ideal opportunity to change the face of the Arab world or "throw a match into the tinderbox and see what happens". Hare's characters prove that there are neither checks nor balances, the single voice of dissent importuned until even he assumes the cloak of expediency. All is achieved with a few key characters and a supporting cast, much of the language quoted verbatim. Rumsfeld and Cheney are avidly supported by a caustic Wolfowitz and fawning Rice, speaking for the President, who remains taciturn, if vigilant. Bush's quietude carries a weight of its own, as fearsome in his lack of participation as the apologists for war. History will ultimately judge this war, the country awakened by unimaginable violence, trusting its government for protection in a time of crisis. Mission accomplished. Luan Gaines/ 2005.

great version of a very important time in our history

This play has been created from letters and reports written and told by the governments themselves.For anyone interested in modern politics, its worth the read!