Eight years ago, when Tommy left home to start protesting in Parliament Square, he went with his wife's blessing, even though she was pregnant with their seventh child. But now his daughter is sending him placards declaring "Bring my daddy home," and when Tommy misses his own mother's funeral, his wife thinks that he owes as much of a responsibility to his family as he does to civil liberties and the cause he is fighting for. Inspired by peace campaigner Brian Haw, this small, fierce and intelligent play not only raises issues about freedom of speech and our need to defend a 350-year-old right, but also ponders the times when compromise is necessary, and when it is a sellout.
Rising backbench star Gail, who voted against the war in Iraq, might use the truth as it suits her as her career takes off, but is Tommy any less blind? Perhaps he's even a little dazzled by his own public image as a man with a mind of his own who is prepared to stand up and be counted.
It's always clear whose side the play is on, but its strength is in the way that it remains even-handed in its portrait of Tommy, suggesting that while there is something inspiring, extraordinary and admirable about him, his devotion to a cause comes at a terrible price. "The world needs me," he says and in a flash you see the ego that fuels the campaign. This is a man who will sacrifice his own family for a cause. The writing is a little pedestrian at times, but the play races along and offers unusually convincing portraits of both the politician and the journalist.
