Madison Yarbrough on a theatrical warning of political dangers ahead

A man in a light purple jacket and white shirt, holding a microphon with his arms spread wide — Francis Beckett, writer of Make England Great Again – (Credit – Mark Thomas)

Make England Great Again Or MEGA, is the new play coming to Upstairs at the Gatehouse in Highgate Village. A comedy which showcases the rise of fascism around the globe and asks audiences the question: what if Britain’s next?

Playwright Francis Beckett, whose knowledge and experience with fascism surpasses many, spoke with me about the themes of the play, as well as its creation and positioning in today’s climate.

Max Moore, the leader of a fictional right-wing populist party, is the centerpiece of the play. Partly based on Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Donald Trump and even Beckett’s own father, the playwright sees Moore as a dangerous threat, reflective of the current political extremism, who imperils the stability of the British government.

On the subject, Beckett said: “I have no doubt in saying that the nearest we have come to fascism since the second world war is in the Trump presidency and the growing threat from the far right in Britain.”

I asked Beckett what audiences are meant to consider when coming into this play. He told me that everything in his piece focuses on what goes on at the top of government, rather than the day-to-day management of the country. He’s focused on parliament and the King. Max Moore sets out to ruin all competing spaces of power, as fascists do, similar to Donad Trump, according to Beckett.

“If you destroy all those checks and balances, you cease to be a democratic nation. You’ve become a dictatorship. So that’s what Donald Trump is doing.”

Beckett wants his viewers to ask themselves, “would it be possible… to subvert the British constitution in a way, in the way that Donald Trump is subverting the American constitution?”

Beckett explained to me the concept of Britain’s unwritten constitution – which means there is lack of clear laws about who has power over what – and questioned the widely held belief that something like what has gone on in France, or Germany, or America could never happen in Britain. His answer: “that’s complete garbage.”

Beckett and his play are strictly focused on the likelihood of a far-right campaign taking over Britain in the way it has done in America.

On his experience with fascism Beckett looks to his father, “an old fascist.” According to Beckett, his father “ran all the propaganda for Oswald Mosley, British union of fascists before the second world war.”

Beckett has researched and published a book about his father’s life, titled Fascist in the Family and, beyond his father’s involvement, he is not unfamiliar to politics himself, as a former president of the National Union of Journalists, having worked on national newspapers and magazines. He also has worked for trade unions and the Labour Party.

When I asked Beckett what he thinks his audience should be thinking about when they walk out of his play, he simply said, “how can we prevent it?” He suggests there are ways, and history has proved it. He wants audiences to look at this proceeding of happenings before them in the play and give serious consideration to the future of Britain.

For Beckett, there is a certain importance in the viewing of this play. It highlights an obligation to ask ourselves: how important is freedom? How strong is one’s impulse to reject dictatorship and fascism at a time we are confronted with it everyday? Beckett promises to ask and answer these questions in Make England Great Again.

Make England Great Again runs for two weeks, from 30 September to 5 October, and again from 14-19 October, Tuesday-Saturday at 7.30 pm and Sunday at 4 pm. Tickets from www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com, phone 020 8340 3488, or in person at the box office.

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