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Playwright David Edgar reflects on the enduring relevance of his 1976 masterwork, which
was revived on stage in a special performance this month produced by Byline Times

A Labour Government in deep trouble. A Conservative Party failing to take advantage. A new anti-Europe, anti-immigration party poaching disillusioned and dispossessed voters from both main parties. Industrial disruption across the public sector. Violence in the streets.

This is Britain in 1976. And I have a play on at a small theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The play was Destiny, its subject was the alarming rise of the fictional neo-fascist party Nation Forward, and its aim was to try to explain how such a movement could gain traction in a country that had defeated Hitler only 30 years before.

Edition 86 – June 2026 – Cover + Contents

Achilles and Trump’s ‘Forever Wars’

Instead of threatening Iran with a return to the Stone Age, the United States could look to ancient stories of imperial folly to learn a thing or two, writes Jake Arnott
Jake Arnott