Wednesday 14th June, 2017 has gone down in history as the night of the Grenfell fire in London, which killed 72 people and left dozens injured. An inquiry into the fire quickly discovered that – unlike the Royal Borough of Kensington’s incredibly expensive, private properties – the council-owned Grenfell Tower fell short of basic fire safety regulations, in an attempt to save money on social housing.

With the tragedy already so well-publicised and well-documented, some may be sceptical about a new verbatim play six years after the event. But this culmination of years of interviews conducted by writer Gillian Slovo does shed new light on a crucially important issue, and functions as a powerful call-to-arms.

The entire play is framed by an opening statement from prime minister David Cameron (on screen), explaining why we need to cut the red-tape of building regulations, and boost the economy. The diverse cast of twelve actors multi-role residents and building manufacturers, highlighting how Grenfell’s cheap flammable exterior cladding was illegal in much of Europe. The play is three hours, in order to fully explore how Kensington’s shoddy, cost-cutting landlord behaviour started long before the fire, and how, as a country, we demean and diminish social housing.

Staged in the round (Phyllida Lloyd, Anthony Simpson-Pike) with the house lights up (Azusa Ono), and no real set design except for some cleverly used cardboard boxes (Georgia Lowe), the resulting play is surprisingly cerebral and political. No fire is depicted, and the verbatim script is used to explain, not upset or shock.

Playing at the National Theatre’s Dorfman Theatre 13 July – 26 August 2023.