Born In The USA

Michigan. Present day. Jimmy Vandenburg, ex-Ford factory car worker, works alone in his garage servicing the classic American cars of his youth. He is the man ‘born down in a dead man’s town’, the antihero of the Bruce Springsteen anthem, trying to survive in the economic wasteland of the rust belt.

A decorated Vietnam war veteran, Jimmy felt his service for his country was ignored after he came home. Trump’s call to ‘Make America Great Again’ appeals to Jimmy’s disillusionment. But his new-found politics drives a wedge between him and his wife and daughter until a chance visit by the son of a fallen comrade makes him doubt his convictions and leads to a profound emotional reconciliation.

In recent years, political debate has become bitterly polarised in the US and increasingly also in the UK. Intolerant ideas are freely expressed in mainstream politics and people once thought extreme now lead populist parties with huge public support in democracies across the world.

This multi-layered, often humorous and intensely moving solo play by award-winning actor-playwright Richard Vergette is a timely exploration of what drives populist politics and how they seduce the disillusioned and the disaffected.

Following 4 and 5 star reviews in Edinburgh and at London’s Park Theatre, it is touring the UK.

Leaving Vietnam contains descriptions of death in warfare and the use of minor swear words.