'The Meeting' @ The Drum, Aston.

Malcolm X and Martin Luther King; two highly significant figures in the struggle against segregation and racism during the 20th Century, two figures who on the surface, to many, would appear to be fighting for the same cause. When one studies the differing philosophies, religions and methods of these two leaders it becomes clear just how different they were. ‘The Meeting’ is a short play that dramatizes a meeting between the two men, something that inevitably never happened. This production tackled such an event with powerful exchanges, comic moments and most importantly the communication of the fact that both men were just men, however different in their ideals, fighting for a better life for the black people of America. The play allowed the audience to see the merit of both men’s work and to conclude that without both men and their work the landmarks reached in the 1960s would not have been possible. The performance was followed, much to my surprise by a discussion lead by my head of department! Interesting questions were raised covering institutional racism, the arts and a lack of black role models in the UK today whereupon a range of opinions were presented. One question which seemed to sum up the debate was ‘where is everybody tonight?’ in response to the half filled small theatre. The actor who had played King cut in to argue that the arts were slow to clock on to technology and its power over the organization of people’s lives and their entertainment choices. I would argue that its not always a matter of choice because if the arts were projected into society in an effective way, sensitive to technological advances and more importantly the power of the net, then people would fill the theatres, I for one would choose live performance of any kind over an X Box. Of course the question of where everybody was was being discussed primarily in the context of institutional racism and the preservation and education of black history and culture. As I left, three questions were evident for me: Why wasn’t a play regarding two of the most important figures in 20th Century history being performed at the Rep? Why a play of such cultural importance and interest for so many was restricted to performance during black history month? And finally why is the exhibition of black history and culture restricted primarily to a mere month of the year?