London Calling by Rohan Candappa. Lockdown Theatre Co on You Tube. 4****. William Russell

This 17 minute monologue performed by Guy Hughes is the last in a series of 20 monologues the Lockdown Company has been performing on line in response to pandemic and was inspired by reports that the weekly fatalities caused by Covid-19 at one point outstripped the fatalities in the Blitz at its peak. Directed by Candappa it is a powerful piecerecalling the spirit of the Blitz which saw Londoners survive the Nazi bombs and which politicians love to call on in times of tribulation, although London then is by no means London now.
It climaxes with a performance of a lyric composed in 1940 by Ronald Fuller, who was an ARP warden at the Strand Station in 1940 titled A shrouding we will go - which is what they did when the all clear was sounded - and set to music by Hughes. The parallels are crass - Candappa does not deny that - but they do get drawn by public figures and journalists in news reports, which is the point of ending the series this way. The monologue was first performed on 7 September 2020, the 80th anniversary of the start of the Blitz. The other 19 are there on You Tube to listen to. London Calling is described as "pulling no punches." Hughes notes that when the sirens wail the all clear "we will watch to see who runs for cover."
The other 19 are every bit as well worth watching.
Performed by Guy Hughes.
Music by Guy Hughes.
Directed by Rophan Candappa.