Play Details
Context
Artistic Director
Max Stafford-Clark
Dates Performed
Thursday 11th June 1987
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs
Play Details
Synopsis
A small Central American country north of Nicaragua.
In a nation teetering on the brink of crisis, Englishwoman Mrs Tennant goes missing, presumed murdered. Bill Jenkins, a former British foreign correspondent, arrives to unravel the mystery. As Jenkins delves deeper, he reconnects with past colleagues, including a protégé and the American Ambassador, while also encountering locals such as a priest, an Indigenous woman, and a businessman.
Jenkins’ Ear masterfully intertwines political intrigue with personal drama. The play vividly portrays the volatile atmosphere of a Central American country grappling with internal strife and foreign influence. Through sharp, suspenseful dialogue and rich character development, Hughes explores themes of political corruption, colonial legacy, and the search for truth. The play’s structure, moving between Jenkins’ investigations and flashbacks of Mrs Tennant’s life, creates a gripping narrative that keeps the audience on edge.
What our readers say
The play takes place over one day and jumps back in time a week prior to it, with flashbacks of events happening throughout this week. It’s bookended by a prologue and epilogue monologue by Jenkins. These feel like reports of the events that unravel through the course of the play.
What’s it like reading this play now? Hows it aged? What does it speak to?
The play shines a light on the devastating consequences of US and UK interference in Central America, a narrative that remains painfully relevant today. However, its white-centric lens, giving prominence to American and British characters while sidelining Indigenous voices, feels outdated and problematic.
What does it tell us about the past and present?
It still got me angry just how involved and often the provoking parties are the States and the UK with conflicts in different countries throughout the decades.
