Well hello there, did you have a good time on 15th February at the Iraq war demos? Talk about civil society, it was very civil, friendly and determined and MASSIVE, The Headitor meanwhile had a smile on his face for days - he was described (though not named) in the 'Irish Times' (that paper of record) as being "a group of men" who "wore Victorian-style mourning' [sic] suits" at the Belfast demo….whereas he was the only one so dressed!

Anyway, I hope you're keeping up the pressure on Bertie, Tony, George et al [Ed - Who's Al?]. But before my own stuff, the Headitor has again told me to hand over part of my column to someone else - "That's a new world order", he said. So -

Our theatre correspondent

Abby Peacock writes on the forthcoming production of The Playboy of the Western World by John Millington Synge at the World Court Theatre

The cast offs: Christopher Mahon played by George W Bush Pegeen Mike played by Tony Blair Old Mahon, played by Iraq Widow Quin played by Jacques Chirac Shawn Keogh played by Bertie Ahern Directed by Gunnar Merchant Produced by S.O. Oyle

While it may be unusual to review a forthcoming dramatic presentation, it was felt that this production, even though still to come on the (world) stage, is so explosive that publication now is warranted. It threatens to drop a bombshell onto the way life is portrayed.

Christy Mahon is a liar and a braggart, so the casting of George W Bush is a master-stroke, and it is a role which he plays with great relish and accomplishment. To have Pegeen Mike, the person most taken in by Christy, who falls head over heels in love with him, played by Tony Blair is another tremendous feat in the casting of the play. Meanwhile Bertie Ahern as the obsequious, toadying Shawn Keogh, who is afraid to stand up to anyone - especially the powers that be - is very apt. The play being set in a shebeen is very suitable for Bertie Ahern and friends who seem to be opening or pictured visiting pubs every other day (and have done nothing to tackle escalating alcohol abuse and resultant problems).

If you know the play, the people are initially taken in by Christy Mahon and his lies about how he killed his father. Violence at a distance seems heroic, and Christy Mahon's stature is high. But when people discover his lies, and then his very real attempt to kill his father in front of them, they are shocked, disgusted and horrified. Violence out of sight can make the perpetrator a hero; but the reality of violence is very different, it has no mythic qualities, only blood, pain and mourning, and when they see Christy Mahon 'kill' his father before them then Christy becomes an outcast rather than a hero. The people want Christy brought to justice.

This is clearly a play for our times. It is hard to say too much about the acting at this time but a few comments are in order. Bush as Christy Mahon, and Blair as Pegeen Mike, both seem to try too hard to be fully believable. But Blair does portray well the gullibility of Pegeen Mike at being taken in by Bush's Christy Mahon, who becomes emboldened by the lies he tells; people's belief in him strengthens him further so that he feels anything is possible. It is the realisation by the people of his lies which is his undoing. He loses all his power to impress.

The play ends with Pegeen Mike's words: "Oh my grief, I've lost the plot surely, I'll not be becoming the playboy toast of the western world." The play itself is normally a strange and heady mixture of tragedy and comedy but this production avoids the comedy entirely. I am afraid to inform you that despite this production's deficiencies which are legion (US and British armies in fact), it is really unmissable; it is going to be BIG, in fact it is going to go ballistic, and you won't be able to avoid the accompanying publicity and fireworks. Touring, or should I say 'cruising', soon to a theatre of war near you. . What other commentators said: "This one will run and run, on the road to Basra" - The Irish People "What a play, boy" - Globallsisation Review "It's the aftermath of the play that I would be after being worried about" - The Plain People of Ireland

Middle aged men Middle aged men get my goat.

Not all middle aged men, you know, being one myself. But well dressed, self complacent, smart-arsed middle aged men. Like the one I talked about recently who commented on someone's dress at an Iraq vigil rather than engage with the issues (even 'Nuke Iraq' is at least some, relatively unthinking or vengeful, dealing with the issue) Or the man at a US Consulate demo in Belfast at the time of the Afghan war who shouted at people to get a job. Or the smart, middle aged man from my area who said sternly to me "Have you no job to go to?" when he passed as I was doing a 'word bubble' mime promoting The Demo. Yes, I have a job to go to, too much work to do in fact overall, and part of the problem with the world is middle aged men who think that 'work' is the answer to the world's problems. What do you think produces all those bombs and bullets? Santa Claus? And why is the world in such a state of chassis? Because largely middle aged men don't bother their barnies to think about the effect that their work and their decisions have on other people.

Maybe it's one reason to look forward to being old. Not to be identified with middle aged men.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Good piece in the February edition of 'Just News' the CAJ/Committee on the Administration of Justice bulletin, defending the Bloody Sunday Inquiry which it seems to have become fashionable in some quarters (which includes the PSNI chief constable) to lambaste. Angela Hegarty points out that "One of the reasons the Inquiry is costing so much and taking so long is because of the successive attempts to overturn its rulings and obstruct its investigations by the state - from the long series of judicial reviews to the disappearance of rifles and the 1,000 or more photos taken by the army on the day." She goes on to say that it may be making a lot of rich lawyers richer but "That….should be taken up with the Bar Council and the Law Society, not proffered as an excuse to end the inquiry."

I would add that if the original Widgery tribunal hadn't been such a travesty (it could be said he made a widget out of it - something that creates all gas and no substance) then the families of victims would have been properly able to grieve, and the issue would not have festered in the way that it did.

The article concludes "the acknowledgement of truth is an ethical and political necessity, and truth is an essential component of justice and peace. The bottom line is that public enquiries would cost a lot less if all those involved in the conflict would cease denying their role in it."

Incidentally, the January 2003 issue of 'Just News' gives a useful summary of CAJ's concerns in relation to the Review of the Parades Commission by George Quigley [is it PC? - Ed] Their final submission is available from the CAJ office (phone 028 - 90961122, price £1.50).

Suicide - "From Despair to Hope"

'Society', that entity which Margaret Thatcher said didn't exist, exerts pressure on different people in different ways. For some that pressure, even if alleviated somewhat by close friends and active understanding, can be experienced as violence and torment, aside from any issues of mental health. An excellent new book published by the Council on Social Responsibility of the Methodist Church in Ireland looks at the whole area from a caring point of view; it's entitled "From despair to hope - A Christian perspective on the tragedy of suicide". ISBN 1 85390 672 7. Interestingly, it's the first Irish Protestant church publication to be published by Veritas, the Catholic publishers.

Weighing in at 207 pages (A5) it is in three main sections: Understanding Suicide, Responding as Individuals, and Responding as Churches. If you want a good guide to the issue which is easily readable and comprehensive in its breadth, then this is it. It is filled and enriched with the personal experiences of those who have died or who have been left to grieve. While written in a Christian context it should be of interest and use to anyone. Here is just one snippet;

A letter from a bereaved mother talks of some of the issues after the death of her son following being turned down for Christian ministry. Being involved in a church, it was very difficult when her son, 'Mark', came out as gay. But she did receive some kindness and understanding: "Those who came and revealed the secret hurts of their own hearts, Those who came and just listened or who really tried to understand. Those who just accepted as though it was the most natural thing in the world. There was old Miss Willoughby, who had been his Sunday School teacher. She called me to what turned out to be her death bed. I didn't think she'd have a clue what 'gay' meant. But she did - exactly. She reminded me again and again how much God loved Mark: no matter what he is or what he does. I remember Mr McBain, who everyone thought was half cracked. He came one Easter when Mark was home to take out communion service. As he gave the invitation and Mark was hesitating in our seat, he said softly, but very clearly 'Come on lad: take it, it's for sinners like us'. "

Prejudice reduction (inter-faith)

Last year we had an Inter-Faith Calendar from the USA up on our kitchen wall, one produced by the National Conference for Community and Justice, and we have another one this year. It's a beautiful and detailed calendar featuring in fact 14 religious groupings (by including December of the old CE year and January of the next); American Indian, Anglican Christianity, Bahá'í, Buddhism, Catholic Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Orthodox Christianity, Protestant Christianity, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism. Each month headlines one of these religious groupings with information about it, as well as special dates for all the religious groupings.

Now comes the test. We have lots of people coming into our house who are not friends in the sense of people that we know well. When a particular month is open, we would wonder "Do people who don't know us think that we are really Buddhist/Hindu/Orthodox….?' Because when it is open on a particular month there is no sign from a distance that it is an inter-faith calendar (you would only realise this if you looked at the detailed dates for all religions).

If you were in the same situation, which of these religious groupings would you object to people thinking you belonged to? In my case, the winner or loser would have to be the Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); I would most object to being thought a Mormon. Think about it. What's your answer? And what does that say about us or about the religious grouping concerned? That's got you thinking.

And so to action…

Farewell again, and keep up that pressure. It has all to be played for yet even if Bush and Blair are starting the war. And if and when war does come, let's make sure that the USA and UK governments' days are numbered, and that the world realises that this kind of global imperialism - by Bush and Blair, or by anyone else - is totally out of (the new world) order. Blair may be acting from a moral base but he seems to see only a quarter of the picture; no one doubts Saddam Hussein's evil actions and contrary nature, but the repercussions of a war for Iraqis and for the world is what we are primarily against. Wake up, Tony. The era when Britain can be a part of sending in a gunboat to sort out recalcitrant natives is over….well, come to think of it, maybe it's not over, but there'll be hell to pay.

See you next month,

- Billy.