I’m Not Running

‘As mum says ‘we’re not poor, we’re broke, there’s a difference’ Pauline Gibson

In the Neil Armfield directed production, ‘I’m Not Running’, Pauline Gibson (Siân Brooke) is junior doctor turned independent politician who is deciding if she wants to join the Labour party and run for leader.

Despite knowing the political theme of the play, the title ‘I’m Not Running’ never struck me about being about the run as political leader and although that is key in the play, I believe the title isn’t entirely about Pauline Gibson’s decision to run as leader of the Labour Party but her as well as Jack Gould’s (Alex Hassell) decision to not run from each other and their family backgrounds.

Even though he’s the antagonist, the character of Jack Gould resonated most with me. From the moment the audience met Jack it’s clear that he’s a flawed individual as he is drunk and scruffy. Although outwardly he appears better put together in the later years of the play its evident that he remains morally flawed and is often laughed at by the audience. For some Jack’s blind loyalty to the Labour Party may be endearing, but this being contrasted with Pauline’s vast and strong knowledge on various things such as Female Genital Mutilation which she talks so passionately with Meredith (Amaka Okafor) about, presenting her as the more viable candidate for leader, something Jack himself seems to be aware of.  

As much as I would like to believe that Pauline is a thousand times morally superior to Jack it can’t be denied that they both put on a polished front when in the public eye, which is something that has come to be expected from politicians. It’s for this reason that Nerena (Brigid Zengeni) isn’t successful in leading the campaign to keep the hospital in Corby open and why Pauline takes over. To Pauline’s credit she does seem to be more emotionally affected by having to be in the public in eye, shown by her rapid speech and fidgeting. This humanises her and continues to make her more likeable than Jack.

 During the film version, playwright Daniel Hare is interviewed and one striking thing Hare said in his interview is that the Labour party, though seen as the most progressive party is yet to have a female leader. This stuck with me for the second act of the play as it highlighted the real-life issues and consequences that he was tackling within the play. This made me like Jack a lot less as he constantly insisted on toeing the party line and keeping with tradition, two things consistently done within politics despite it being counterproductive. This being coupled with the current break down of the Labour Party and most recently the Conservatives as its members have started their own independent party, presenting another thing Hare mentioned during his interview that he doesn’t want to write about past issues.

The play does well to presents its key themes during the first act of the play but as we arrive closer to the end the constant back and forth between Pauline and Jack becomes tiring and creates no progress bringing the play to an inconclusive end.