Probably the most remembered UK political speech, after Churchill’s rousing calls to the nation during World War II, is Enoch Powell’s ‘Rivers of Blood’ diatribe. The conservative MP for Wolverhampton South West delivered the speech at a Birmingham Conservative Association meeting in 1968 and was sacked from his post as shadow Defence Secretary within days. The speech exposed the massive racial fissures within the UK at the time and its influence has been felt ever since. In Chris Hannan’s powerful new play set in 1992 the character Rose Cruickshank, daughter of a Caribbean immigrant and an Oxford academic, can feel the awful shadow cast by Powell’s words and wants answers. Will a meeting with the man himself, played by Star Wars’ Ian McDiarmid, provide the answers she desires. A timely production considering recent events. A post show discussion takes place after the evening performance on Wed 2 Nov but tickets are limited so move quickly.

Fri 21 Oct to Sat 12 Nov various times at The Rep, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2EP £10 www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/