National Theatre to tell Grenfell Tower survivors’ stories

A new verbatim play produced by the National Theatre will tell the stories of Grenfell Tower fire survivors.

Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors is the work of the novelist and playwright Gillian Slovo.

Slovo spent five years talking to members of the community and recording people's accounts of the fire which killed 72 people.

Slovo interviewed 80 people in total but decided to focus on the stories of a small number of survivors and the bereaved.

All those involved were given a guarantee they could read the transcripts of their interviews and had a veto on anything they didn't want included.

The play, which will be performed by professional actors including Ash Hunter, Houda Echouafni and Jackie Clune, will be told in three parts.

It will begin with the lead up to fire on 14 June 2017 before focusing on the night of the tragedy. Finally, a filmed section will talk about the survivors' fight for justice.

Slovo said: “It felt such a responsibility to render their experiences accurately. With verbatim, there is no dialogue – you have to fit together a series of monologues to tell a story.”

Grenfell: In the Words of Survivors will be at the National Theatre, London from 13 July until 26 August.