The Great Game: Afghanistan

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The Great Game: Afghanistan
Written byVarious
Date premiered17 April 2009
Place premiered London
SubjectHistory of Afghanistan
SettingAfghanistan, 1842 to present

The Great Game: Afghanistan is a British series of short plays on the history of Afghanistan and foreign intervention there, from the First Anglo-Afghan War to the present day. It is organised into three sets of four plays and draws its name from the 19th and 20th century Great Game, a geopolitical struggle for dominance between The British and Russian Empires. The main plays are linked by monologues and duologues giving historical background and verbatim theatre edited by Richard Norton-Taylor from modern figures linked with western involvement in Afghanistan, such as William Dalrymple, Hillary Clinton, Stanley McChrystal and David Richards.

Contents

Premiering at the Tricycle Theatre in London in 2009, it had another 6-week run there before a tour of the US. The cast included Michael Cochrane and Jemma Redgrave and the directors were Nicolas Kent and Indhu Rubasingham. It was noted for the significant interest shown in the production by the Pentagon, as an educational tool for US soldiers and officials involved in the war in Afghanistan. [1]

Plays

Invasions and Independence

This part covers the period from 1842 to 1929.

  1. Bugles at the Gates of Jalalabad by Stephen Jeffreys – Four buglers outside Jalalabad keep watch for survivors from the Massacre of Elphinstone's Army, while Lady Florentia Sale reads her diary.
  2. Durand’s Line by Ron Hutchinson – Amir Abdul Rahman and Sir Mortimer Durand discuss the eponymous Durand Line after the Second Anglo-Afghan War.
  3. Campaign by Amit Gupta – A British civil servant in the new UK coalition government tries to draw on the history of Mahmud Tarzi to produce a British withdrawal strategy in 2010.
  4. Now is the Time by Joy WilkinsonAmānullāh Khān, his wife Soraya Tarzi and her father Mahmud Tarzi are stuck in a car stuck in the snow in their escape from Kabul in 1929.

Communism, the Mujahideen and the Taliban

This part covers the period from 1981 to 2001.

  1. Black Tulips by David Edgar – Groups of Russian conscripts from 1987 back to 1981 are briefed for their role in the Soviet–Afghan War
  2. Wood for the Fire by Lee Blessing – Two CIA operatives deal differently with the growing power of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence to supply the Mujahideen for their war on the Soviets. (The original play in this slot in 2009 was JT Rogers' Blood and Gifts on a similar topic, [2] but this was left out of the 2010 run, since it had been expanded into a full-length play in the meantime to be produced at the Royal National Theatre in October 2010. [3] )
  3. Miniskirts of Kabul by David Greig – A Western journalist imagines a meeting with president Mohammad Najibullah as the Taliban closes in on his refuge in the UN compound in Kabul in 1996. [4]
  4. The Lion of Kabul by Colin Teevan – Two men have killed UN aid workers and the Taliban throw them to Marjan, the one-eyed lion in Kabul Zoo, with the UN's unwilling collusion.

Enduring Freedom

Named after Operation Enduring Freedom, it covers the period from 2001 to 2009.

  1. Honey by Ben Ockrent – A CIA man tries and fails to persuade Ahmad Shah Massoud to help resume American intervention in Afghanistan, just before Massoud's assassination in 2001.
  2. The Night is Darkest Before Dawn by Abi Morgan – An Afghan widow attempts to re-open her husband's school in the wake of the September 11 attacks and American intervention. [5]
  3. On the Side of the Angels by Richard Bean – An aid worker gets involved in Afghan women's rights against her will, when two young girls are betrothed to older men to resolve a land rights dispute. [6]
  4. Canopy of Stars by Simon Stephens – Two British soldiers guarding the Kajaki Dam discuss military life and the justification for intervention.[ citation needed ]

Production history

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghanistan</span> Country in Central and South Asia

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, Tajikistan to the northeast, and China to the northeast and east. Occupying 652,864 square kilometres (252,072 sq mi) of land, the country is predominantly mountainous with plains in the north and the southwest, which are separated by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Kabul is the country's largest city and serves as its capital. As of 2021, Afghanistan's population is 40.2 million, composed of ethnic Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks, Turkmens, Qizilbash, Aimak, Pashayi, Baloch, Pamiris, Nuristanis, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmad Shah Massoud</span> Afghan military leader (1953–2001)

Ahmad Shah Massoud was an Afghan politician and military commander. He was a powerful guerrilla commander during the resistance against the Soviet occupation between 1979 and 1989. In the 1990s, he led the government's military wing against rival militias; after the Taliban takeover, he was the leading opposition commander against their regime until his assassination in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European influence in Afghanistan</span> Overview of the influence of European colonial powers in Afghanistan

European influence in Afghanistan has been present in the country since the Victorian era, when the competing imperial powers of Britain and Russia contested for control over Afghanistan as part of the Great Game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Afghanistan</span> Historical development of Afghanistan

The history of Afghanistan, preceding the establishment of the Emirate of Afghanistan in 1823 is shared with that of neighbouring Iran, central Asia and Indian subcontinent. The Sadozai monarchy ruled the Afghan Durrani Empire, considered the founding state of modern Afghanistan. The written recorded history of the land presently constituting Afghanistan can be traced back to around 500 BCE when the area was under the Achaemenid Empire, although evidence indicates that an advanced degree of urbanized culture has existed in the land since between 3000 and 2000 BCE. Bactria dates back to 2500 BCE. The Indus Valley civilisation stretched up to large parts of Afghanistan in the north. Alexander the Great and his Macedonian army arrived at what is now Afghanistan in 330 BCE after the fall of the Achaemenid Empire during the Battle of Gaugamela. Since then, many empires have established capitals in Afghanistan, including the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Indo-Sassanids, Kabul Shahi, Saffarids, Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Kartids, Timurids, Hotakis and Durranis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taliban</span> Islamist organization in Afghanistan (founded 1994)

The Taliban, which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist and Pashtun nationalist militant political movement in Afghanistan. It ruled approximately three-quarters of the country from 1996 to 2001, before being overthrown following the United States invasion. It recaptured Kabul on 15 August 2021 after nearly 20 years of insurgency, and currently controls all of the country, although its government has not yet been recognized by any country. The Taliban government has been criticized for restricting human rights in Afghanistan, including the right of women and girls to work and to have an education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulbuddin Hekmatyar</span> Afghan politician, mujahid and drug trafficker (born 1949)

Gulbuddin Hekmatyar is an Afghan politician, former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so called after Mohammad Yunus Khalis split from Hezbi Islami in 1979 to found Hezb-i Islami Khalis. He has twice served as Prime Minister during the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durand Line</span> Border between Afghanistan and Pakistan

The Durand Line, forms the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, a 2,670-kilometre (1,660 mi) international land border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to the border with China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Alliance</span> 1996–2001 anti-Taliban military front in Afghanistan

The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, was a military alliance of groups that operated between late 1996 to 2001 after the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) took over Kabul. The United Front was originally assembled by key leaders of the Islamic State of Afghanistan, particularly president Burhanuddin Rabbani and former Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud. Initially it included mostly Tajiks but by 2000, leaders of other ethnic groups had joined the Northern Alliance. This included Karim Khalili, Abdul Rashid Dostum, Abdullah Abdullah, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Abdul Qadir, Asif Mohseni, Amrullah Saleh and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haji Abdul Qadeer</span> Northern Alliance leader in Afghanistan (c.1951–2002)

Haji Abdul Qadeer was a prominent Northern Alliance leader in Afghanistan and opposed the Taliban. Originally a commander of the Hezb-i Islami Khalis faction during the Soviet–Afghan War, he then served as governor of Nangarhar Province, the head of the Eastern Afghanistan Shura, and later Vice President of Afghanistan and Minister of Public Works in the administration of Hamid Karzai from 19 June 2002 until his assassination on 6 July 2002. He was the older brother of fellow anti-Soviet and Northern Alliance commander Abdul Haq, who was executed in late 2001 by the Taliban. Abdul Qadeer is notable for welcoming Osama bin Laden to Jalalabad in 1996.

Gul Haider is a former mujahideen commander and official in the ministry of defense of Hamid Karzai's Afghan government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)</span> 1989–1992 internal conflict in Afghanistan

The 1989–1992 Afghan Civil War took place between the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan on 15 February 1989 until 27 April 1992, the day after the proclamation of the Peshawar Accords proclaiming a new interim Afghan government which was supposed to start serving on 28 April 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan Civil War (1992–1996)</span> 1992–1996 civil war in Afghanistan

The 1992–1996 Afghan Civil War took place between 28 April 1992—the date a new interim Afghan government was supposed to replace the Republic of Afghanistan of President Mohammad Najibullah—and the Taliban's conquest of Kabul establishing the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on 27 September 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan Civil War (1996–2001)</span> 1996–2001 military conflict in Afghanistan

The 1996–2001 Afghan Civil War took place between the Taliban's conquest of Kabul and their establishing of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan on 27 September 1996, and the US and UK invasion of Afghanistan on 7 October 2001: a period that was part of the Afghan Civil War that had started in 1989, and also part of the war in Afghanistan that had started in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)</span> Conflict between NATO Western forces and the Taliban

The War in Afghanistan was an armed conflict from 2001 to 2021. It began when an international military coalition led by the United States launched an invasion of Afghanistan, toppling the Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate and establishing the internationally recognized Islamic Republic three years later. The conflict ultimately ended with the 2021 Taliban offensive, which overthrew the Islamic Republic, and re-established the Islamic Emirate. It was the longest war in the military history of the United States, surpassing the length of the Vietnam War (1955–1975) by approximately 6 months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan conflict</span> Continuous series of wars in Afghanistan

The Afghan conflict, also called Instability in Afghanistan is a series of events and wars that have kept Afghanistan in a near-continuous state of armed conflict since the 1970's. The country's instability began after the collapse of the Kingdom of Afghanistan in the 1973 coup d'état; with the overthrow of Afghan monarch Mohammed Zahir Shah, who reigned for almost forty years, Afghanistan’s relatively peaceful period in modern history came to an end. The triggering event for the first major war in Afghanistan during this period was the Saur Revolution of 1978, which overthrew the Republic of Afghanistan and established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Rampant post-revolution fighting across the country ultimately led to a pro-government military intervention by the Soviet Union, sparking the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inter-Services Intelligence activities in Afghanistan</span>

The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) intelligence agency of Pakistan has been accused of being heavily involved in covertly running military intelligence programs in Afghanistan since before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The first ISI operation in Afghanistan took place in 1975. It was in "retaliation to Republic of Afghanistan's proxy war and support to the militants against Pakistan". Before 1975, ISI did not conduct any operation in Afghanistan and it was only after decade of Republic of Afghanistan's proxy war against Pakistan, support to militants and armed incursion in 1960 and 1961 in Bajaur that Pakistan was forced to retaliate. Later on, in the 1980s, the ISI in Operation Cyclone systematically coordinated the distribution of arms and financial means provided by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to factions of the Afghan mujahideen such as the Hezb-e Islami (HeI) of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud whose forces would later be known as the Northern Alliance. After the Soviet retreat, the different Mujahideen factions turned on each other and were unable to come to a power sharing deal which resulted in a civil war. The United States, along with the ISI and the Pakistani government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto became the primary source of support for Hekmatyar in his 1992–1994 bombardment campaign against the Islamic State of Afghanistan and the capital Kabul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamabad Accord</span>

The Islamabad Accord was a peace and power-sharing agreement signed on 7 March 1993 between the warring parties in the War in Afghanistan (1992–1996), one party being the Islamic State of Afghanistan and the other an alliance of militias led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The Defense Minister of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, resigned his position in exchange for peace, as requested by Hekmatyar who saw Massoud as a personal rival. Hekmatyar took the long-offered position of prime minister. The agreement proved short-lived, however, as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and his allies soon resumed the bombardment of Kabul.

The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Afghanistan.

Protests in Afghanistan against the Taliban started on 17 August 2021 following the Fall of Kabul to the Taliban. These protests are held by Islamic democrats and feminists. Both groups are against the treatment of women by the Taliban government, considering it as discriminatory and misogynistic. Supported by the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, the protesters also demand decentralization, multiculturalism, social justice, work, education, and food. There have been pro-Taliban counterprotests.

The following is an outline of the series of events that led up the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).

References

  1. Marks, Peter (9 January 2011). "Play about Afghan conflicts gets encore performance with Pentagon blessing" . Retrieved 27 April 2018 via www.washingtonpost.com.
  2. "Designing the Great Game". www.hotreview.org. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  3. Spencer, Charles (15 September 2010). "Blood and Gifts, National Theatre, review". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  4. Brantley, Ben (7 September 2010). "The Curtain Rises: Enter, Reality". New York Times. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  5. Morgan, Abi (9 April 2009). "Abi Morgan: How I put the Taliban on stage". The Guardian. London.
  6. Higgins, Charlotte (1 April 2009). "England People Very Nice writer courts fresh controversy with Afghanistan play". The Guardian. London.
  7. Higgins, Charlotte (11 February 2009). "Theatre offers Afghanistan history lessons". The Guardian. London.
  8. http://www.tricycle.co.uk/about-the-tricycle-pages/about-us-tab-menu/archive/archived-theatre-production/the-great-game-usa-tour/ [ dead link ]
  9. "The Great Game, Drama on 3 - BBC Radio 3". BBC. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  10. Norton-Taylor, Richard (9 January 2011). "London theatre troupe to perform play on Afghan history for US military". The Guardian. London.
  11. Marks, Peter (9 January 2011). "'Great Game' gets encore, with Pentagon's applause". The Washington Post.