The Norwegian cultural attaché in London might not support David Greig and Ramin Gray’s latest production but they argue theatre has a responsibility to debate matters of great public interest.

“It was Anders Behring Breivik saying he wanted to save Europe from Islamisation that caught my eye,” says Gray, when we discuss the starting point for The Events, which investigates the effects of politically motivated mass murders on small communities.

Gray, who worked at the Royal Court for nine years and has worked with playwright Greig on two recent plays, says the Scandinavian embassy staff member “has been massively unsupportive of the project”.

There is even a line in the play that comes directly from her.

“She says I don’t even want to name him. When I met her she would only refer to him as ABB.”

Greig and Gray’s tale is of a gunman who opens fire on to a multicultural community choir for the vulnerable. It is set in a fictional town in Scotland.

The story is told from the point of view of Claire, a liberal-minded vicar, played by Amanda Drew, who tries to understand the actions of The Boy, played by Clifford Samuel. He says it is a play about community healing, the limits of empathy and how to move on if you have been involved in something life-changing.

“Whenever these things happen you want to find an answer,” continues Gray. “People say it’s because we didn’t do this or that we didn’t love or educate or support.

“The strength of the play is it makes it clear there is no single answer. There are a variety of factors which, when they come together, could produce this situation.”

Local choirs join each performance as it tours the UK. The Paddock Singers from Lewes will sing in Brighton.

“As a touring company it is difficult to know who our audiences are. Having a choir means the local community is represented on stage.

“They bring family and friends, which makes for different colours every night. It makes it feel like a town hall meeting and not like a piece of theatre.”

Survivors of Breivik’s killing spree talked to the pair before they’d penned the story.

One boy, who was in England to study at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and had been on the island of Utøya on the day of the attack, provided a counterpoint to the cultural attaché’s view.

He has been going over the story again and again for two and a half years since it happened, explains Gray, who added the boy feels that trying to own the story has been a central part of his healing process.

Sharing the story

“That is what the theatre is, too. The actors go over the same story every night. They share it in public. And there is, I feel, a really important role the theatre can make in its social and public aspect.

“You have to have an audience in public – and in that sense the production goes back to Greek theatre where the whole city would gather together to contemplate matters of great moment.”

The Norwegian student, now in his early 20s, remembered Breivik looking into his eyes and shooting at him.

After running and running and playing dead, with two little children aged 11 and 13 in his care, he had got to the edge of the island.

He heard a noise behind them. It was Breivik. The boy dived into the water and started swimming. His big red pullover dragged him down and he had to stand up to get rid of the pullover. As he did so, he turned back and looked. Breivik stared into his eyes and shot at him.

“We said, ‘How was that?’”

“He said, ‘At that point I felt my soul leave my body.’

“We said, ‘Has your soul come back?’

“He said, ‘No it hasn’t yet.’ Those lines are now in the play.”