The tragic repercussions of the nuclear arms race of the last century has left its scars upon the world. But one group of men who have never been properly recognised for their suffering are the thousands who were sent to observe and withstand the effects of Operation Grapple, the nuclear bomb testing on Christmas Island.
Jamie Sefton’s play sees him as an everyman serviceman, narrating both the events leading up to the blasts and the long chain of lies and pain which followed, spanning the 1950s to the current day. It’s an endearing performance, with a light and joking sense, pulling the audience in before the real sense of horror begins to materialise.
It’s a moving, beautiful, terrifying and tragic piece, worse for knowing that the events detailed happened to countless people and that the government’s response has and still is to deny to recompense and even to accept the human cost of these experiments.
It deserves to be seen, and these stories told.