Dictating to the Estate rehearsed readings

Ryan recently directed two rehearsed readings of a new documentary play at The Playground Theatre in West London.

Dictating to the Estate is a play by Nathaniel McBride about the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower made entirely from contemporary documents such as emails, blogs and council minutes. The play places the refurbishment of the tower in the context of austerity and estate regeneration, and re-enacts the efforts of local housing activists such as the Grenfell Action Group to resist these policies and ensure the improvement works to the Tower were safely carried out. The story ends six months before the fire, with Grenfell Action Group’s chillingly prescient observation that only a “major catastrophe … with serious loss of life” would bring their landlords to account.

Nathaniel McBride and Ryan Kiggell have been developing the project for over a year, the readings were an opportunity to test run the script. Both readings were sold out, and were well received by audiences, including many from the local community.

The Playground Theatre have invited the production back for a three week run in the Autumn of 2019.