ABOUT THE PLAY

It is 2011 and old school veteran journalist Bellamy Johan struggles to find his place in the modern corporate world of mainstream media. His lack of enthusiasm for sensationalist news causes constant friction with his new breed of editor and pretty soon good stories stop coming his way. Hardship at home ensues and tension in his marriage increases to breaking point. With his life falling apart his long-term friend Eric takes him in and encourages him to find his motivation again. The youthful idealism of his super smart teenage children reminds him of why he took up journalism in the first place. In a last ditch attempt to save his career and marriage, Bellamy embarks on the most dangerous assignment of his life and travels to Libya…

‘An Interview With Gaddafi’ gets under the skin of the familiar mainstream media narrative; exposing the vested interests of big business as well as the faults of a privatised money system during political conflict. This dramatisation of Gaddafi’s last interviews focuses the light back on key subjects through the eyes of a desperate journalist – just what kind of money system was he proposing as chairman of The African Union and how would that have effected greater wealth distribution across the African continent? What was the meaning of his rambling at the UN when he said the structure of the UN Security Council was a contradiction of the UN Charter? Just why couldn’t Libya sell Libyan oil to Europe in Euros instead of the US Dollar? No one asked these questions. No one that is until Bellamy Johan of PBC News. The play in no way seeks to whitewash the guilt of the Gaddafi regime, but it does use the conflict as a backdrop for highlighting some of the other atrocities behind the scenes of these global conflicts. As you are drawn in to Bellamy’s search for the truth you will share his anxieties, his passions, his laughs, his euphoria, and inevitably, you experience a little of the trauma of war. The play is a perfect balance between an easy access intellectual stimulus and a meaningful emotional experience, between message and drama, between thought and feeling.

There is a strong cast of four recognizable stage and TV actors who, apart from Bellamy, take on a variety of characters producing some sensational performances that you won’t believe are the same person. The younger cast members appear by webcam as a super realistic Skype conversation and there is also televised newsreel footage of the real events leading up to the regime change in Libya. All this gives the stage play a modern feel to reflect a modern world that challenges us all.