A new play about undercover policemen and the pain they have inflicted on women is due to open next week.
“Any Means Necessary” is based on the true story of the police’s long-running covert infiltration of political groups.
The play looks at how the undercover officers deceived women into forming long-term relationships with them during their covert missions. It also shows how the women turned the tables and searched for the truth about the men’s deception.
The drama is based on the exposure of Mark Kennedy, the undercover policeman who infiltrated environmental groups, and the collapse of the prosecution of campaigners after it was revealed that crucial evidence had been concealed by the state.
The play is due to run between February 5 and 20 at the Nottingham Playhouse. Nottingham was where Kennedy spied on campaigners during his secret mission.
Writer Kefi Chadwick has talked to many of those who have been involved in the controversy about undercover policing. They include Alison, who had a five-year relationship with undercover police officer Mark Jenner (for background, read this).
Chadwick said: “These cases show an incredible abuse of human rights and civil liberties and are one of the biggest police scandals of all time.” She told the Sunday Times :”This is a story about women who were abused by the state, but have taken that power back to bring the people concerned to account. I didn’t want to write a play about victims. I am sick of seeing women as victims, on screen dead, or sex trafficked or raped . . . those stories are valid, but this is about bringing the people who’ve done that wrong to you into the light.”
Publicity for the play can be found here and here. The text of her drama is due to be published as a book next month.
The title of the play “Any Means Necessary” is drawn from the unofficial motto of the Special Demonstration Squad, one of the undercover units at the heart of the controversy.
There will be a series of meetings connected to the play that will be held at the Nottingham Playhouse.
On February 11, Helen Steel (one of the defendants in the long-running Mclibel trial) will talk about how undercover policeman John Dines deceived her during a two-year relationship. She will be joined by Bruce Kent, vice-president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, who will talk about how a spy infiltrated CND. (More details here).
On February 13, Donal O’Driscoll of the Undercover Research Group (a network of activists who are investigating the police’s covert infiltration of political groups) will speak about their work. (More details here). The group is also holding a series of roundtable meetings around the country about unmasking police spies - see this here for more information.
On February 17, Chadwick and Merrick Badger, one of the activists who helped unmask Kennedy, will discuss the spy scandal. (Details are here).
