Acclaimed writer Barrie Keefe’s powerful 1979 political drama SUS is set to be revived in Liverpool by Sidehammer Productions at the Hope Street Theatre and will be performed on 2nd and 3rd of February 2024.
The play, set on election night 1979, and named after the sus laws of the time which made it legal for police to stop and search anyone purely on suspicion, will be brought to life by the team behind last year’s successful revival of John Dillon’s Wearing Colours.
The play takes place during the graveyard shift at a police station, as two detectives, embittered yet empowered by the prospect of a new right-wing government, place bets on which party will win.
When a black man is arrested and accused of his wife’s murder, he is incensed, believing that he will be fodder for an incoming government keen to flex its law-and-order muscles. Keefe’s classic, harrowing play is a powerful, politicised cry against the still-current threat of institutional racism and uncompromisingly depicts a corrupt world which looks all too familiar today.
Originally performed in London shortly after Margaret Thatcher was swept to power, the play has since proven popular around the world and has played in New York, Los Angeles, Europe and Australia and has had adaptations in Pakistan and India. In 2010 a film version of the play was released.
Event Date: Friday 2nd February 2024 - Saturday 3rd February 2024
Categories: Arts | Black History Month | Theatre
