The Iron Heel

The stage adaptation of Jack London's 1908 novel.  The first modern dystopian novel, written by London as a socialist propaganda piece. An election between a socialist candidate and an oligarch.  What happens if the oligarch wins?  Adapted by Edward Einhorn, originally presented in New York on the 100th anniversary of London's death.

Avis Everhard's diary provides the story of her husband Ernest, a young socialist revolutionary who gets caught up in historical events.  Together, they try to resist the rise of a fascist America, under the Iron Heel of the oligarchs.  The play is frameworked as a 27th Century Historical Reenactment Drama, presented in the socialist utopia London predicted in his prologue and footnotes. As onstage “historian”, Antonia Meredith, comments on the events throughout.  The play is punctuated by classic folk songs, with changed lyrics that comment on the action. 

The original novel was an inspiration for Orwell’s 1984, and was praised in a book review by Leon Trotsky.

“[The Iron Heel] serves up food for thought with an appealing heart-on-sleeve warmth. You may well find yourself humming some of those tunes on the way out." - Elizabeth Vincentelli, The New York Times

"The production manages to give the story a deeper emotional impact thanks to the terrific cast...But most of all, the production brings alive the hope and horror of the revolutionaries who fought in the early 20th century in a way that feels relevant and contemporary to a modern audience." - Geoff Bailey, Socialist Workers

"A solid introduction to Jack London and his work in a time wrought with doubts about the current economic and political landscape across the globe. Einhorn’s adaptation is a testament to the idea that, sometimes, the best way to understand the past is the best way to understand the present." Sarah Weber, Theater is Easy

"Edward Einhorn not only absorbed creatively the impetus given by Jack London'sThe Iron Heel but also thought over again in its light political discourse as a whole." - Alexandra Scaggs, The Financial Times