EDINBURGH 2014- BWW Reviews: THE TRIAL OF JANE FONDA, Assembly Rooms, August 1 2014

The Trial Of Jane Fonda opens with video footage of Americans burning effigies of Fonda. In 1988 there were protests to her shooting a movie in Connecticut due to the large number of war veterans living there and the way she spoke out during the Vietnam War.

The play takes place in a church hall where Fonda meets with veterans to put across her side of the story. They begin by calling her a traitor and telling her that if this had been a declared war she could have been put to death for treason. Each veteran tells his own story before she is allowed to put her own side across.

I didn't know too much about Fonda's activism during the war beforehand. She is asked why she went to Hanoi during the war and appeared to take Vietnam's side against her own country. Evidence is piled against her - images of her sitting on a gun and laughing and rumours that she betrayed the confidence of American prisoners of war. She is then given the chance to explain her actions and to argue that she was misrepresented in the media.

This is an intense and incredibly well written show. It boasts one of the biggest names at this year's Fringe with Golden Globe winner Anne Archer who gives a fantastic performance. The whole cast were brilliant and made this a very engaging piece of theatre.

The Trial Of Jane Fonda runs at the Assembly Rooms until August 24th.

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