Triggered

A Labour MP is in trouble and the factions are circling. Does she know who her friends are? Do we ever have friends in politics? Or just comrades – in arms one moment and at each other’s throats the next.

NEC member (think Jackie Weaver IRL) June Wright takes us through the process as Sally Finch – MP for the fictional seat of Hollingsdeane – faces a contentious vote in Parliament, as well as a local educational dispute that pits local members against each other. Watch as a series of decisions by her local members to seek her deselection are played out.

We also meet Jim Marr – Chair of the local branch of Momentum which seeks to depose Sally. However, Jim is also one of the striking members Sally has been supporting. And then there is Safia Peters – A moderate voice in defence of Sally, but against the strike. How far will they all go to get what they really want?

This fictional account of an attempt to deselect an MP exposes both the brutal and most human elements of politics. Where ambition and a genuine desire to do good clash. Triggered reminds us that all politics is essentially about human beings making human choices.

Third Act Productions are proud to present Triggered, a new play written and directed by Emma Burnell.

Burnell has spent 20 years working in Westminster and has been a Labour Party member since her 15^th birthday. She knows the good, the bad, the ugly and the all-too-human sides of left wing politics better than most. In this, her second play, that knowledge is put to use examining the motivations of good people fighting each other for good reasons – and the bad blood that creates between them. This is a play about the human side of politics where there aren’t goodies and baddies – just people.

To ensure that the play is balanced, Burnell took advice from across the Labour spectrum and would like in particular to thank Luke Akehurst from the Starmer-supporting Labour to Win, former NEC observer Emina Ibrahim and Matt Zarb-Cousins a former spokesperson for Jeremy Corbyn for their invaluable input. She stresses that where she has broken or bent the rules that is her theatrical choice and not their political advice!