Book description
"I've listened to all the stories of my generation, then watched
'em get sick or fade away. And it wasn't this world that killed 'em. It
was the other...the memory of it." Britain, the near future. Much
of the country is underwater and the government has been reduced to a
group of fascist strongmen. In a rural outpost of the state, the men
patrol the moors for illegals whilst the women run a self-sufficient
farm to provide what all they need to survive. The living conditions are
harsh, every meagre ration is grown from scratch and they must battle
with inclement weather and a draconian government. As their numbers
dwindle, they struggle to retain a semblance of civilisation in the face
of the inevitable onset of global war. Stark and imperative, but shot
through with a sense of warm compassion, Beth Steel's debut play Ditch
is a clear-eyed look at how we might behave when the conveniences of our
civilisation are taken away, and a frightening vision of a future that
could all too easily be ours. Ditch is a brutal and uncompromising play,
with a grounded, earthy sense of humanity. The result is both
heart-rending and chilling, depicting a convincing, bleak vision of the
future. Beth Steel is a new playwright currently on attachment to
Theatre 503, London as one of their prestigious 503Five Writers group.
This is her first full-length play.
