HAVE a general rule of thumb when it comes to plays: if you can’t understand what a play is about without consulting the programme, there’s something quite seriously wrong with it.

And in the case of the Magna Carta plays, you really did need the programme notes.

We were treated to a series of playlets that were, for the most part, dramatised political rants with improbable plots designed to take a poke at some of society’s trendy targets, such as commercialisation, our ‘secret state’ and colonialism. Oh, and of course the mandatory dig at the church.

What a wasted opportunity.

There are so many other possible themes out there that relate strongly to the Magna Carta. What about the Clive Ponting trial in the 1980s, when a jury defied the judge and refused to convict a man who blew the whistle on the true circumstances of the sinking of the Belgrano?

What about the current situation where some people who believe they are innocent are pleading guilty in Magistrates Courts because they can’t risk the financial costs of entering a ‘not guilty’ pleas but then being convicted? What about the denial of justice to those who can’t afford to go to litigation without Legal Aid since it was drastically curtailed?

I felt sorry for the cast, whose acting was first-rate. But even the best actor couldn’t transform this sow’s ear into a silk purse.

ALAN JONES Hale