The October issue of Hackney Today, the Hackney Council propaganda sheet, lands on my doorstep.
It contains the usual Hackney People feature, which this month features Hackney actor Hywel John. He is behind the play Joe/Boy, a two part upcoming feature at The Last Refuge theatre in Peckham Rye. The play was commissioned in response to Owen Jones' book "Chavs: The Demonisation of the Working Class."
I am not sure Hywel John really gets class, which perhaps makes a play by him on the subject, whether inspired by Owen Jones or not, rather redundant. To quote from Hackney Today:
"Although admitting he went to public school himself, Hwyel adds "I'm not a massive fan of the traditional working and middle class thing, I think they are meaningless, especially in places around here where everyone is trying to get by".
I have not seen Hywel John act, but all I can hear in that quote is someone saying 'we're all in this together' in a very posh voice. Class may be meaningless to you Hwyel, as you 'struggle' to get by, but it is not to millions of other people.
Who do you think is buying those new build properties going up all around us in Hackney, Hywel? Judging by the prices in estate agents windows, they are not bought by people 'struggling to get by'. For many Hackney residents though, those properties may as well be on the moon.
Hi there, just saw this. Hywel here. I think your comments are fair enough. I think in my defence I'd say what we talked about in the interview was neatly paraphrased by the journalist into something a little less nuanced than what I was getting at, which is basically that class isn't as simple as upper / middle / lower etc, that it is obviously more complicated and fluid than that. The play looks at two young men from different social backgrounds and how they have reacted to a specific shocking event - the aim being to highlight the complications in how we all view each other across social divides, that there's both ignorance but also, hopefully, a shared humanity. But anyway, maybe you'd fancy coming along to check it out, and hopefully you won't find it as redundant as you predict. I'd hope so anyway!
Best, Hywel
Posted by: Hywel | October 25, 2012 at 12:19 AM
Hi Hywel - Thank you for taking the time to reply to the post and explain your comments further.
The class system is fluid - that in a way is why it has lasted so long - it is not fixed rigidly in the way that apartheid was. I hope the play adds to these debates - just as 'Chavs' did.
Posted by: Paul Stott | October 26, 2012 at 07:04 AM
One last addition on this - a profile of Hywel John in the Islington Gazette of 27 December 2007 (p.11) states that he grew up in Richmond Crescent, Barnsbury (one of Islington's more sought after addresses) before attending Bristol University.
If you have heard of Richmond Crescent before, it is because that's where Tony and Cherie Blair were living prior to Blair's 1997 election victory.
Posted by: Paul Stott | January 11, 2013 at 05:40 PM