Review: Lessons on Revolution, Jermyn Street Theatre 

Lessons on Revolution combines an experimental documentary style approach to theatre with audience participation and historical retelling. The scene is set in 1968 at the London School of Economics as three thousand students occupy the university, protesting its ties to apartheid-era Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). Jump to 2024 as two flatmates, concerned by their own injustice living in a HMO flat with horrible conditions, dive into the LSE archives, discovering the events of 1968 and looking to the future with hope for change. 

Jermyn Street theatre is itself a great space for imagining ourselves in a cramped London flat or a lecture hall. Down a set of stairs uncovers a small, cramped auditorium decorated with hanging lights, an overhead projector and a record player; a call to the past as we revisit this historical event in the present. It adds an immersive layer to the production and creates a sense of what it might feel like to be part of the students as they storm the lecture hall. Audience participation only emphasises this further, as we too become part of the production and the conversations it ignites. 

Two men (Samuel Rees and Gabriele Uboldi) offer us biscuits and squash before introducing themselves, emphasising that they’re not professional actors and require a few audience members to help play the characters – a quite unusual start to a play. Jumping into uncovering the actions of the student protest, they guide us through the tensions and motivations of the students: they demand that the university cut its ties; from having financial involvement in BP to the appointment of Walter Adams as director, with direct involvement in upholding the apartheid regime in Rhodesia. Intertwining this with personal anecdotes of their struggle living in a flatshare that does not meet regulations and increasing rent (seemingly a rite of passage to anyone living in London today), they look to the past as a way to envision a better future. 

The combination of the personal and wider geopolitical issues is a key strength of this play, underscoring the importance of solidarity and community in demanding change. Whilst neither ends successfully, there is not a sense of hopelessness but rather a meditation on the past as a tool to learn and instil hope. It is important that Rees and Uboldi don’t attempt to romanticise or dramatise this revolution; they simply present us with the facts. They too admit the limitations of their research, unable to provide the audience with a fully formed or positive ending. They reiterate that, unlike a Netflix documentary, you can’t always tell the story with the drama or ending we desire. The theatre becomes a space of shared knowledge, learning and community. 

It is commendable that Rees and Uboldi’s writing doesn’t feel overwhelmingly didactic or political, taking a softer approach to educating audiences. Whilst forefronting important issues, the play remains fascinating and enjoyable. Linking it to the contemporary, they also look to the student-led protests against LSE’s ties to Israel. It feels like a very relevant play for our current environment, reinforcing community as an important act of resistance. 

After the show, I found myself sitting in Chinatown, watching the world go by with a sense of refreshed hope and love for the city, thinking of what the future may look like with positive change. Lessons On Revolution certainly achieves its goals, looking towards the future with hope by engaging with the political and personal and creating a production that considers protest, change and solidarity.

Written by Samuel Rees & Gabriele Uboldi
Set and video design by Ella Dale
Lighting design by Laurel Marks
Sound design by Rudy Percival
Stage management by Vivi Wei 

Lessons on Revolution plays at The Jermyn Street Theatre until Saturday May 3