Philadelphia-based journalist Yvonne Latty wanted to hear what was going on in Iraq from people who were actually there. So she went and talked to them. In Conflict, based on her 2006 book of the same name, serves up first-hand accounts from a parade of American veterans of the Iraq war.
There is testimony here from men and women from all ranks of the military. We listen to Republicans and Democrats, eager recruits and the involuntarily deployed. Some of the vets remain staunchly patriotic; others have had their view of the US chipped away beyond recognition.
This production by Temple Theatre, of Philadelphia, offers a kaleidoscopic survey of a country at its best and worst. Tammy, who lost both her legs in Iraq and is looking forward to getting prosthetic high heels, still believes the army is "a very good employer". Herold from the Bronx is haunted by the memory of an Iraqi woman who was shot in the mistaken belief that she was carrying a bomb; she was in fact holding a baby, who was subsequently crushed under the wheels of a military convoy.
But while some of this material is fascinating, not all of it is revealing: it could have been more judiciously edited and shaped. Douglas C Wager's production starts to ramble, and, as the accounts multiply, there is confusion as to what this verbatim piece should be about. What's more, only a few of the performances convince you that this testimony should be staged rather than read. And video footage of injured Iraqis only serves to remind us of the parts this show doesn't reach.
