Dramatising the Case of Derek Bentley

Abstract

Blue Murder, originally devised by David Bromley and Gifford Rolfe in 1991 for the Telling Tales Theatre Company, is a play concerned with the case of Derek Bentley who was hanged in 1953 for his alleged involvement in the murder of a police officer. It was premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe that same year and was subsequently ‘adopted’ by Iris Bentley as part of the official campaign to clear her brother's name. During the remainder of the decade Telling Tales continued to perform the show at venues throughout the United Kingdom, including performances for Amnesty International, and thousands of signatures were collected from audience members to be sent to respective Home Secretaries. Since Iris Bentley's death members of the Company have continued to work with the Bentley family through their links with Maria Bentley-Dingwall, Iris Bentley's daughter, and representatives of Telling Tales were invited by Maria to attend the High Court in July 1998 to witness the historic decision to grant Derek Bentley a full posthumous pardon.This paper incorporates events up to and including the High Court decision in July 1998. The paper also examines the significance of more recent activities concerning the show, including performances of extracts to audiences throughout Israel. What is argued is that the natural development of the piece, from that which is specific to the Bentley case to its status as a ‘vehicle’ for raising wider issues concerning man's inhumanity to man, underlines the potential/capacity of live theatre to ‘travel’ across social and cultural boundaries and to act as a focal point for raising universal concerns.