Land of the Free – Southwark Playhouse, Borough
That Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while attending a theatrical performance is fairly common knowledge. Much less is generally known about his assassin: John Wilkes Booth.
Booth's life is the subject of Simple8's production at the Southwark Playhouse. Booth came from a theatrical family and was himself an actor. It was his familiarity at the Ford theatre in Washington which gave him easy access to the President's private box on the fateful night of April 15 1865.
His motivation was unclear, but probably arose from anger at the defeat of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and Lincoln's subsequent decision on the abolition of slavery. These provide the background to the play.
The play is highly theatrical. This is appropriate given Booth's theatrical background ...