The worlds

First performed at the Newcastle Playhouse in 1979, 'The Worlds' offers a clipped and lucid examination of the violent machinery of capitalism, the politics of industrial action and the use of terrorism. After a difficult week trying to deal with a strike by his organisation's employees, Trench goes away for the weekend to a smart country hotel, to dispense wisdom to his boardroom protégś. He is then suddenly kidnapped, his captors holding him hostage until the demands of the strikers are met. Meanwhile, his workers shiver on the picket line, trying to figure out why some men get to follow different rules. But while Trench is absent, his protégés find they appreciate being in charge, and the ruthlessness of the corporation turns in on itself.