Review: My Name Is Rachel Corrie (53Two, Manchester)

Review by Eleanor Rose Clarke

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 

My Name Is Rachel Corrie comes to Manchester’s 53Two over 20 years after its 2005 premiere at London’s Royal Court Theatre, perhaps even more impactful than its original production after this passage of time. It is difficult to rate a piece like this, knowing that the material itself transcends any kind of rating system in its authenticity in telling a woman’s life story, especially a life so dedicated to peace and justice. 

The play focuses on Rachel Corrie, a 23-year-old American activist who, when working for the International Solidarity Movement, aiding Palestinians in the Gaza Strip in 2003, was killed by an Israeli Bulldozer. Despite the years passed since these events, they undoubtedly still carry huge significance. Through the script’s make-up of diary entries and emails written by Corrie herself, not to mention in the midst of our current political climate, the events of this play feel ever-present.

In its Manchester premiere, the piece is produced by the political theatre collective, Take Back. Established in 2015, the collective has been praised for creating an active artistic community, producing responses to political and social events with an emphasis on immediate and urgent conversation. The crowd attending the show tonight certainly seemed to be reminiscent of this community, and it was lovely to see an engaged group of people come together. 

Staged at the fully accessible, independent theatre, 53Two, a space equipped with a trendy bar and seating area to relax before the show, this piece aligns with the venue’s goal to challenge, inform and educate. The space is well-suited to the production, placing audiences under the Grade II listed arches transformed into an intimate but spacious theatre. Grant Archer’s set design is layered in capturing both Corrie’s bedroom and the bedrooms of the Palestinian families she later stays with, with features suggesting double meaning, such as books piled like bunkers at the base of the stage. Corrie’s writing humanises the Palestinian people, who are otherwise framed as a news story or statistic back home; this staging also draws a parallel between her and them, as both have lives, families, and homes. 

Performing a solo piece of this stature is no easy feat, and Harriet Bibby’s performance as Rachel Corrie is energetic and engaging for the entire 90-minute runtime. Bibby is known for her TV role in Coronation Street, as well as theatre credits such as Blackbird at the Royal Court in Liverpool. Through Bibby’s performance, we meet Rachel Corrie in her entirety, the young girl who could see the world as a better place and the young woman she becomes, who carries her beliefs with her in every aspect of her life. Through anecdotes from Corrie’s life, before she travelled to Palestine, we understand the basis of who she is and her strive for activism, especially activism through the arts, which is exactly what the play itself achieves.

Ian Kershaw’s direction uses the space well, allowing us to follow Corrie’s ever-racing train of thought through constant movement. As she darts to and fro across the stage, this mirrors her dynamic storytelling style, linking events from her past and present to where her life might go.  The production’s use of sound is minimal, perhaps to avoid any overshadowing of Bibby’s voice, but I would argue it could have been more atmospheric with louder audio moments. George Miller’s lighting grows more dramatic as the play goes on, reflective of the increasing danger Corrie is met with as she travels, as well as successfully framing her as the sole actor on stage.

The respect and care taken when adapting Rachel Corrie’s writing into this script is clear, as you feel this very real person in the room with you, through the performance and the writing. Corrie’s personal writing was edited by actor Alan Rickman and journalist Katharine Viner, and Corrie’s family have expressed their gratitude and support for the way the material has been handled. Corrie was certainly a talented writer, able to express both her understanding and questioning of the world through her words, and Rickman and Viner were right in thinking this would be impactful in front of an audience, letting Corrie’s voice shine through under their direction.

What is fascinating about the construction of this piece is realising that even in Rachel Corrie’s personal journals, she was embarking on her mission. In writing for herself, she writes as though she is addressing the nation, or even the world. We come to know Rachel Corrie as more than a memory of an activist’s name in the news, but as an intelligent, thoughtful, curious, silly and creative individual. Watching this performance, I felt inspired by this woman’s words and heartbroken by her story, whilst bettered for having watched this piece.

My Name Is Rachel Corrie is playing at 53Two in Manchester until March 21st. Tickets at: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/null/my-name-is-rachel-corrie/e-kqyepd 

Photos by Elspeth Mary Moore