It was 2008 when I sat down to write a one-act play for inclusion in a drama festival.
It was my first play – a departure from the sketches and revues I’d written previously – and the subject matter chose itself. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq rumbled on – as did the arguments about the rights, wrongs and consequences of our involvement, and about the inadequacy of supply lines.
Against this background, two figures emerged: an officer, leading men in a conflict about which he was himself conflicted; and a squaddie, distrusted by those around him for his self-centredness.
The drama of the strained relationship between these two, and the question of responsibility for a death within their squad, caught my imagination – and those of audiences in the festival, on the Fringe, in New York and elsewhere.
My belief when I wrote the play was that it had a short shelf life and would become irrelevant once the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan were resolved. Sadly, relevance remains. Wars, it seems, are always with us – since 2008, we’ve witnessed conflicts in Libya, Syria, Yemen, Mali and Sudan to name but a few.
Arguments about what our ‘degree of involvement’ in foreign conflicts should be also continue within political discourse – about supply of weaponry or about ‘boots on the ground’ (an expression that seems to shy away from the fact there are human beings in those boots). And there are always question marks over supplies and supply lines.
Soldiers, of course, are expected to ignore all this and just get on with the job – one of the issues explored in the play.
As we stage the 15th anniversary performance, two different conflicts dominate the political and news agendas: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the Israel–Palestine conflict. Both are in one sense the latest outbreaks of long, historic struggles. Both are made worse by aggression and intransigence. And both have an immense cost in terms of human lives and suffering.
We’ve decided to use our anniversary evening to raise money for the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, in recognition of the sheer scale of the need there – 3 million displaced, 2 million going hungry – and our own need to cut through the polarisation and simply help the people who are suffering.
When Damn Cheek was formed, one of our first creative decisions was to revive The Door. I met Rob Swinton in November 2014, beginning a productive working relationship that saw The Door partnered with my pre-referendum (and sadly prophetic) play The Speech. This double bill played to venues around the country and helped to establish Damn Cheek as a company.
In the 5 years since The Door was last seen, the world has changed in ways few of us could have imagined. During lockdown, we had to shift our focus to virtual performances, producing theatre through the medium of Zoom, connecting with audiences far and wide.
We’ve also had the privilege of working with communities up and down the country who’ve become active partners in our productions. We’ve developed wonderful creative relationships with schools, community groups, churches and others. And we’ve explored subjects as diverse as intergenerational relationships, the climate emergency, faith and philosophy, as well as transitioning from primary to secondary schools.
The 15th anniversary of The Door is also the 10th anniversary of those first few meetings which led to the formation of Damn Cheek. This makes it even more of a joy to be able to revisit The Door with Darren and Jonny reprising the roles they made their own.
The Door by Tony Earnshaw is directed by Rob Swinton and stars Darren Cheek and Jonny Vaughton. It plays at Canvas And Cream, London SE23 for a one-off performance on Thursday 28 November 2024 at 7.15pm.