In "Murmuring Judges"*, David Hare uses staging to great effect and organises his play so as to enhance the understanding and manipulate the sympathies of his audience. The story concerns the character of Gerard and his treatment as he passes through the three areas of the British legal system: from police station, to law court, and then to prison. The dialogue of the police officers Barry and Sandra, and of the members of the judiciary Irina and Sir Peter, reveals Hare’s view of the state of the legal system and its role within society. 

 

Hare’s stage directions are well written from a literary point of view; for example, the lyricism in the line, “The boisterousness of the day has, for a moment, passed”. This evokes clear imagery for the director and the characters, enabling them to produce and interpret the play exactly as Hare intended. Stage directions are meant to create interest for the audience, particularly at the beginning of the play, the abrupt opening, “An empty stage. Then suddenly from nowhere they’re all there”, creating an immediacy. Personal characteristics are important, guiding actors in their interpretation of dialogue, for example,

 

 

More importantly, the staging is precise enough to present Hare’s views, strengthening the arguments portrayed in the dialogue. We know that Hare is against excessive bureaucracy which prevents the police from doing their job effectively, and the profuse amount of paperwork required is often mentioned: “coppers working on their papers in the dim electric light, like children sitting for exams”. Much reference is also made to the fact that the police station is self-contained, for example, “opposite is a self-locking door, which gives onto the outside world”, possibly a metaphor for the way modern policing can be ineffectual. With reference once again to paperwork, differences become obvious between Barry and Sandra, reflecting the contrasting levels of conscientiousness with the different police officers Hare portrays:

 

 

In law court settings, Hare creates an ironic sense of unreality which mocks the judiciary: “The entire company of the law has appeared in the blinking of an eye”. Hare criticises the stifling sense of tradition which affects the way members of the judiciary can behave towards individual clients: “A bell sounds. The lights go out and the group stands for a moment in the darkness . . . . They set off in an orderly crocodile and make their way in silence to the table”.

 

The scenes which make most impact of all are those set in the prison. Here, Hare shows a dislike of prisons and perhaps a sympathy for prisoners: “He leads her into the main well of the prison block. At once the stage darkens, with the high criss-cross light cutting through the Victorian gloom”. Gerard appears vulnerable in the face of these conditions, which swallow up his identity: “he is like Charlie Chaplin, his trousers padding round his feet, his jacket swamping him”. Later he appears more used to his surroundings: “Gerard is a little ghostly, more suited to his clothes now”, although this perhaps shows that prisons can have a degrading effect, even on the innocent.

 

The scenes are closely connected, unified by the case of Gerard. Hare changes pace adeptly in mid-scene, highlighting intimacy between characters - “suddenly Barry and Sandra are almost alone” - and he achieves fluidity between scenes. This might seem to negate Hare’s point that each section of the legal tripartite works in ignorance of the others. However, by placing characters who don’t acknowledge each other on stage simultaneously, Hare is only underlining this point. For example, “As the police turn to disperse their separate ways, the stage expands and Beckett leads Irina through the wire-fenced courtyards . . .”. This technique reaches its height in the final scene where “All the areas start talking at once . . . simultaneously”. Hare’s stage directions often appear somewhat ambitious for the medium he is using. While it might be straightforward for television to create “a massive perspective” in which characters appear “suddenly from nowhere”, this is less easy to achieve on a theatre stage. 

 

With the impact of the organisation and staging of the play, Hare’s themes about the legal system are clearly portrayed through the dialogue. This is apparent especially with the pairing of contrasting characters like Barry and Sandra, and Sir Peter and Irina. Barry is shown to be a very experienced and, perhaps as a result, a very cynical police officer: “come on boys . . . if you never made any arrests, you’d all be out there on the streets . . . and London would be so much better policed”. He describes how the police is a “club” - “Did they tell you? It’s a team game” - and he is against promotion. He comments on the lack of power the police have to suffer:

 

 

He also describes his loss of faith in the judiciary and Prison Service: “Prison doesn’t work . . . . It isn’t a deterrent”. Even more disturbing is Barry’s unfair treatment of Gerard and his general prejudice: “What’s more . . . . He was kind of Irish as well”. His overall disillusionment gives the reader a picture of a morose and dislikeable character. Sandra is portrayed as a foil: the antithesis of Barry. She is ambitious and has a high moral sense - “It isn’t right, Barry” - and above all she places a huge importance on honesty, “You were really smart. Until your main interest got to be in beating the system . . . . I used to admire you, Barry”. Appearing much more pleasant, she displays compassion for the criminals in her charge:

 

 

Like Sandra, Irina is genuinely concerned for Gerard. She encourages him to fight against what she sees as “an obvious injustice”, saying, “Yes, I’ve been worried, and yes, I’m a lawyer. The two things can go together, you know”. Also like Sandra, Irina has high aspirations: “People always tell me I’m unrealistic . . . . But so many people seem to settle for so little”. Sir Peter, on the other hand, calls cases “trivial”, believes that Gerard’s case was conducted “with impeccable fairness”, and says he is glad the police are ineffectual: “Just imagine the scale of your problems if the police began to have some significant success”. The compassion and leniency shown by Sandra and Irina suggest that Hare believes in a reduction of prison numbers, and recognises a need to ensure the innocent are not locked up. Thus he brings great pathos to Gerard’s soliloquy in Act 2 Scene 1:

 

 

Hare shows how a strong sense of tradition within the judiciary can build up prejudice. This includes prejudice towards female barristers, “he needs something nice to hold his right arm”, and a general disdain for members of the public who are not part of the judiciary: “There is a glass screen. And our clients . . . live on one side of it. We on the other. And . . . we cannot break through”. Also, “I do know the type . . . . Of course he’s sub-average . . . what half the human race is fated to be”. These attitudes lead to clients like Gerard being treated unfairly. Irina mentions an “alternative bar” meeting in Act 2 Scene 8, but the fact that she is “only sorry there are so few of us here” shows Hare’s belief that only a few members of the judiciary are at all interested in letting changes or improvements “chip in”.

 

 

 

* The title, from a legal expression, means to speak ill of the judiciary; to do so is still an offence under Scottish law.

 

 

 

Hare, D. (1991) Murmuring Judges.* London: Faber and Faber Ltd.