Troublesome People
Photo: Siddique Hussain
Troublesome People tells the story of a pacifist couple and two German internees working on the same Manx farm between 1940 and 1941. How they relate to each other, the couple who employ them and a local Quaker highlights the plight of individuals, surviving on the periphery of a global war – whether by choice or circumstance.
Photo: Siddique Hussain
Stories about the Second World War have largely focused on the drama of active participants in the war effort. The situation of conscientious objectors and enemy civilians is rarely examined. Often put into internment camps or prison, such people were reviled at the time and forgotten about once the war had been won. Yet their experiences was as compelling as any coming from the forces or the home front.
Photo: Siddique Hussain
Jill Haas is an American now resident in the U.K. Her dramatic play, America America was broadcast on Radio 4 and a second play, Bringing Up Baby was one of the prize winners at the annual Watermill Playhouse competitions for new writing for the stage. Her publications include a memoir, An Encyclopaedia of Love (Picador) and a book of poetry, The Last Days (Ripostes).