The title of this play comes from George
W. Bush’s declaration soon after the
terrible attack on the World Trade Center
in 2001, that there exists an “Axis
of Evil”, a shadowy conspiracy which
is, presumably, out to destroy the “Allies
of Good”. It was this sort of sci-fi
rhetoric which made the author wonder about
some of the issues at stake in the current
“war against terror”, since
terrorists also seem to believe in a conspiracy
being exercised against them.
The author started thinking about ways
in which terrorism is represented in the
media when he came across the true story
of a western journalist who paid an Islamic
fundamentalist group an enormous amount
of money for an exclusive interview in their
hijacked plane during a hostage crisis in
1977. This made him ponder the role the
media play in terrorist activity, and gave
rise to the formation of a rather absurd
situation of actually having a talk show
between a hostage and his kidnappers.
Hermes Trismegistus is a terrorist who
claims to belong to an ancient cult called
'The Mystery Order of the Law of One'. He
leads a group of militia men in taking over
a theatre and holding the audience hostage.
The militia has recently kidnapped Dr Edgar
Vaughan, a dominant worldwide figure of
capitalist success. They intend to broadcast
a debate with Dr Vaughan on an Internet
website, in order to reveal his nefarious
ways to the world, and to expose his complicity
in the 'New New World Order'. The show is
to be hosted by one Dean Frazer, a failed
documentary journalist who thinks he is
superb at his job and claims to maintain
an objective stance.
Ultimately, the website audience are invited
to choose which of these three fanatics:
Trismegistus, Dr Vaughan or Frazer, are
to be executed. As the drama unfolds, as
the debate rages on, television broadcasts
and other news streams filter in from the
outside world, as government forces steadily
close in on the theatre.
The action takes place in real time, in
the actual theatre where it is being performed.
After taking over the theatre, the terrorists
install various pieces of electronic equipment
on stage; including four television sets
in a frame, a computer console and an electronic
scrolling message board. They also bring
on a video camera on a tripod with which
they project recorded images onto an enormous
screen.
With a topical and tense plot, 'Axis' is
very much a story of our time. The absurdity
of Fraser hosting the talk show broadcast
is in stark contrast to the underlying menace
that is displayed between Trismegistus and
Vaughan. |
