Skip to main content
2017

MINEFIELD

Written by Lola Arias

Play Details

Context

Artistic Director 
Vicky Featherstone

Co-production with LIFT, Brighton Festival, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Theaterformen, Le Quai Angers, Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Maison des Arts de Créteil & Humain Trop Humain / CDN de Montpellier.

Dates Performed

Thursday 2nd November 2017
Jerwood Theatre Downstairs

Play Details

Synopsis

On a stark white stage that hovers between reality and memory, Marcelo stands alone, his weathered hands cradling a mortar shell turned relic. As he speaks, the years melt away, revealing the wide-eyed conscript who once trudged through the muddy fields of the Malvinas. Around him, like ghosts summoned from the fog of war, five other men emerge – former enemies now united in the delicate act of remembrance.

Lola Arias’ “Minefield” explodes the boundaries between documentary and fever dream. We watch as Lou, the ex-Royal Marine, relives the moment he cradled a dying Argentine soldier, his grief still raw decades later. Sukrim, the Gurkha warrior, dances with his legendary kukri knife, its blade glinting with both menace and grace. These men – once pawns in a geopolitical chess game – now stand shoulder to shoulder, their shared trauma a bridge across the language barrier.

As these veterans grapple with their younger selves – reckless, idealistic, terrified –the play evolves into a profound meditation on masculinity, nationalism, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive. With each shared cigarette and halting conversation, we witness the slow, painful work of reconciliation – not just between former foes, but between the men they were and the men they’ve become.

Director(s)

Lola Arias

Photo credit

All images credited to Tristram Kenton

Other productions

Cast & Creative

Cast

Lou Armour

Cast

David Jackson

Cast

Rubén Otero

Cast

Sukrim Rai

Cast

Gabriel Sagastume

Cast

Marcelo Vallejo

Designer

Mariana Tirantte

Lighting

David Seldes

Video Designer

Martín Borini