By Bronwen Beechey
Despite the time that has elapsed since the names Guy Burgess, Kim Philby, Donald McLean and Anthony Blunt made headlines, they are still guaranteed to send shivers up the spines of the British establishment.
All these men came from privileged upper-class backgrounds and were part of the intellectual elite of Cambridge University. The first three became respected members of the British intelligence organisation, MI5.
But over the period of the Cold War, Burgess, McLean and Philby all defected to the Soviet Union, revealing that they had been working for the "enemy" all along. Blunt, who worked as an art adviser to the royal family, was much later discovered also to have been in the employ of the KGB.
A number of authors, film-makers and playwrights have attempted to examine the motivations of these upper-class traitors. The film Another Country is one of the best-known examples.
Some years ago playwright Alan Bennett wrote a television play called An Englishman Abroad which told the true story of an encounter between Australian actor Coral Browne and Guy Burgess, then living a reclusive existence in Moscow.
Bennett later adapted the play for the stage and wrote a companion piece, A Question of Attribution, in which Anthony Blunt parries his way around the palace halls with Her Majesty. The two one-act plays, under the title Single Spies, will be presented by Melbourne's Crispin Theatre beginning next week.
The decision to produce Single Spies was coincidental with, not inspired by, the recent charging of a Canberra public servant with espionage and the resulting ASIO investigation, says director Mark Nicholls. However, Nicholls, who also plays Anthony Blunt, comments, "It certainly makes these plays very relevant. One of the interesting things
about the Canberra spy story was that it disappeared from the media very quickly. Twenty years ago it would have been a major scandal."
The plays examine concepts of loyalty and treason. In An Englishman Abroad, Burgess expresses his longing for aspects of the life he left behind in England. "I love my country", he says, "but I could never say I was loyal to it. I don't know what that means."
The collapse of the ruling regimes in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe also raises the question of whether the cause that led Burgess and the others to risk so much was worthwhile. "Some commentators suggest that Burgess and the others came to regret their decision and question their ideology", says Nicholls, "but the impression I get is that all of them remained committed Marxists, although they may have been disillusioned by the reality of Stalinism".
The fact that both Burgess and Blunt were gay has been used in some quarters to justify homophobic prejudice, suggesting that homosexuals are inherently untrustworthy. "I'm not sure if there is a connection between their homosexuality and their political convictions, although it did perhaps make it easier for them to identify with other people who were being oppressed", says Nicholls.
"The main factor that seemed to motivate Burgess and the others was a deep hatred for fascism, which was a real threat at the time that they were at university and came into contact with Marxist philosophy."
Nicholls says that the decision to produce Single Spies was not just on the basis of its political relevance. "Both plays are extremely well written. Alan Bennett is not only a great historical writer, he is well known for his witty and clever dialogue."
Bennett is perhaps best known in Australia for his series of "talking head" monologues shown recently on ABC TV, and he also wrote the screenplay for A Private Function, a biting satire on snobbery and hypocrisy in postwar Britain.
Single Spies, a pair of intriguing plays dealing with espionage, art, royalty and pyjamas, has been described by British critics as "an evening of sustained insight and laughter". It begins on Thursday, August 12, at the Grant Street Theatre, South Melbourne, and runs until August 28. Bookings are available through Bass on 11500.