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Two actors connected to the 2001 terror attacks in New York in which 3000 people died are starring in a ground breaking play showing at the Elmwood Tennis Club in Holland Road, Kensal Rise.
Former MI5 whistleblower David Shayler and Matt Campbell, whose brother Geoff died when a plane hit the North Tower, are playing journalists
in Seven Seconds by Retep Yehtean.
The play is set at a press conference with living journalists present. Shayler plays Times journalist James Bone while Campbell plays the Guardian’s George Monbiot. Robert Fisk and Nicholas Lezard of the Independent, Damian Thompson from the Telegraph and columnist David Aaronowitch are also portrayed using verbatim words which they’ve said or written.
Matt Campbell, whose brother Geoff died in the Twin Tower attacks of 2001 with David Shayler, former MI5 whistleblower acting as journalists in a play about building 7, seven seconds
The 47 storey World Trade Centre 7 (building 7) collapsed in freefall within seven seconds, hours after two planes flew into the Twin Towers, yet very few people know about it.
Shayler, who hit the headlines in the ‘90s after being prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act 1989 over allegations that MI6 agents plotted to kill Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi, says: “Building 7 remains the only steel frame structure in the world brought down by fire without being hit by a plane.”
 Campbell got involved in
the play following the inquest into his brother’s death which took place in January 2013, 12 years after he was murdered. A risk management consultant for Reuters, his brother was due to attend a conference on the 106th floor of the North Tower when it was struck by a plane.
Campbell wishes to get the inquest reopened as he argues it wasn’t based on proper evidence. Since his brother’s death, he has been trying to establish the perpetrators of the attacks through freedom of information requests to the FBI to see boarding passes belonging to the hijackers and CCTV evidence of them getting on the plane.
“No authenticated evidence exists. Every single statement on my brother’s inquest can be challenged. Either there’s no evidence for them to make the statement on his form or it’s just contentious, for example flight 11 bringing down the north tower. That’s not been proved. It’s so insane and frustrating for me because there has been no justice for my brother. If they truly had nothing to hide, they would give stuff up. ”
The 9/11 commission report, upon which the inquest was based, mentions building 7 but not that it collapsed, “not even in parenthesis” adds Shayler.
Campbell is also taking action against the BBC by not paying his TV licence, which he explains “all comes down to the terrorist material under section 38 b and also because of the BBC having former knowledge of a terrorist event which is building 7 and for them not to report or even investigate for themselves where that came from.”
Footage exists of BBC reporter Jane Stanley telling viewers that building 7 had collapsed twenty minutes before it did so, fuelling the belief that the events of 9/11 were known to the authorities before they took place.
The BBC claimed the information came from Reuters but Mr Shayler believes it’s a “smoking gun”.
Seven Seconds has already been played in Camden, Hackney and Bristol, each time using different actors.
Campbell says:
“The play is just another form of outreach and a different way of getting people to just maybe take a second look and question stuff. Most of the stuff you will never have seen on the TV and if you have it’s been presented in a different way.
“For me I have to take the legal route, I have a right to do that. All these things, these efforts help.”
Former intelligence officer Shayler, adds:
“It’s a cause for rejoicing that we can so easily expose the dark forces behind governments that have essentially been running the world for a very long time. It’s only come out because of the internet and because of something as so high profile as 9/11.”
Peter Neathey, tennis coach at Elmwood and author of the play, said:
“There’s very little possibility of watching real theatre in Brent so I’m grateful the tennis club have stepped up to the plate and created a venue. My hope is that people will come and watch the play thinking one thing and walk out the door thinking something else. My name is me mucking about. The story is back to front so why shouldn’t my name be?”
January 24-25, 7pm.
£10 admission, £5 concession. Elmwood T.C Holland Road, NW10 5AJ. Box office:
07957 391534
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