Verbatim theatre

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Aftershocks
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Aftershocks

Paul Brown and the Workers Cultural Action Committee
A moving documentary play drawn from the traumatic recollections of members of the Newcastle Workers' Club, which was destroyed in the 1989 earthquake.

RESOURCES

Listen

Paul Brown's take on verbatim theatre in Australia, the role of the writer, journalistic function, meaning and context.

Set Designer  Brian Thomson on his design for the Belvoir production.
Cast : Cast: 7M, 9F
Performance Rights : Performance rights: permissions@currency.com.au
Currency Press | 978-0-86819-650-3 | PB
Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry
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Bloody Sunday: Scenes from the Saville Inquiry

Richard Norton-Taylor

Sunday, 30 January 1972: Thirteen civil rights marchers are shot dead, and another thirteen wounded when British soldiers open fire during a civil rights march in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. An inquiry by Lord Chief Justice Widgery – branded the Widgery Whitewash by many – suggested that the soldiers had been attacked first. There was a strong suspicion that some of the victims had fired weapons.

A sustained campaign by the families of the victims, and new material collected by the Irish government provoked a second inquiry in 1998. Since March 2000 the Saville Inquiry has heard evidence from over one thousand witnesses including civilians, military personnel, the media, experts, forensic scientists, politicians, civil servants, priests and members of the RUC. This play is a dramatic overview of some of the evidence.


Oberon Books | 978-1-84002-568-2 | AUSTRALIA/NZ | PB
Called to Account
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Called to Account

The Indictment of Anthony Charles Lynton Blair for the Crime of Aggression Against Iraq: A Hearing

Richard Norton-Taylor

Earlier this year two leading barristers: Philippe Sands QC (for the prosecution) and Julian Knowles (for the defence) tested the evidence of the grounds for an indictment of the British Prime Minister for the crime of aggression against Iraq.

They examined a number of distinguished witnesses, including MPs, diplomats, international lawyers, civil servants, UN officials, policy advisors, intelligence experts and journalists. The arguments and testimony gathered, edited into a play by Richard Norton-Taylor, examine the criminal implications of the British Government’s decision to use force against Iraq, and allow the audience to decide whether an indictment in this case is proven.


Oberon Books | 978-1-84002-745-7 | Australia/NZ | PB
Colour of Justice, The: The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry
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Colour of Justice, The: The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry

Richard Norton-Taylor
In 1993, black teenager Stephen Lawrence was stabbed to death in a racist attack by a gang of white youths. The police investigation failed to provide sufficient evidence to convict. Based on the harrowing transcripts of the public inquiry, this is a dramatic reconstruction of the hearings which reflected the national outcry at the police's mishandling of the case.
'The Metropolitan Police is riven by "pernicious and institutionalised racism"' The Stephen Lawrence Report, February 1999

'I still rate The Colour of Justice ... as one of the highlights of my reviewing life' Michael Billington, Guardian, 2002

Oberon Books | 978-1-84002-107-3 | AUSTRALIA/NZ | PB
Cruising
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Cruising

Alecky Blythe

A hilarious, real-life comedy about pensioners going in search of love - from the sublime to the downright saucy.

Maureen is a pensioner in search of passion. After 33 blind dates, 12 cruises and one broken heart, she is still determined to find Mr Right.

But when best friend Margaret beats her to the altar, Maureen has her doubts - is Margaret just on the rebound and, more importantly, will she lose her pension?


Cast : 3f, 2m
Nick Hern Books | 978-1-85459-937-7 | PB
Guantanamo
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Guantanamo

Victoria Brittain/Gillian Slovo
"I don't know what crime I am supposed to have committed for which not only I but my wife and children should continually suffer" British detainee Moazzam Begg.

Weaving together personal stories, legal opinion and political debate, Guantanamo: 'Honor Bound to Defend Freedom' looks at the questions surrounding the detentions in Guantanamo Bay, and asks how much damage is being done to Western democratic values during the war on terror.
Oberon Books | 978-1-84002-474-6 | AUSTRALIA/NZ | PB
Justifying War: Scenes from the Hutton Inquiry
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Justifying War: Scenes from the Hutton Inquiry

Richard Norton-Taylor
"It usually begins as a play put on at a theatre in North London, and then transfers to I think the BBC, maybe in this case to ITV, I do not know. But the participants and witnesses are played by actors; and there is nothing one can do to stop this. Indeed, it shows, perhaps, the appetite, legitimate appetite of the public, for information beyond the press, beyond the bare written words of what happened." (The Hutton Inquiry, 1/8/03, from Geoffrey Robertson QC's application for the proceedings to be televised) Although primarily focusing on Dr Kelly's death, the Hutton Inquiry has revealed much of the inner workings of Downing Street, the MoD and the BBC. Witnesses have been challenged and questioned on the compilation of the dossier on weapons of mass destruction, the releasing of Dr Kelly's name into the public domain, and the Government's case for war in Iraq. Opened at the Tricycle Theatre, London on 30 October 2003.

"The Tricycle has a soaring reputation for making sure that its audiences engage in what is happening in the world."  Time Out

Oberon Books | 978-1-84002-417-3 | AUSTRALIA/NZ | PB
Meaning of Waiting, The
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Meaning of Waiting, The

Victoria Brittain
A powerful new work of verbatim theatre.

Eight women tell their stories—using their own words—stories of the unseen fallout of the war on terror in Britain. These are stories of real women, from cultures as varied as Palestine, Senegal , Jordan, Libya, St John’s Wood, and the English Midlands. They all came to the UK as refugees, or married refugees here. After 9/11 the world they loved here vanished almost overnight. One after another they were engulfed by isolation and private terror.
 
Victoria Brittain is a former associate foreign editor of The Guardian and this plays was inspired by her experiences reporting on the ‘war on terror’.


Cast : 6F, 2 singers, 1 muscian
Oberon Books, UK | 978-1-84943-051-7 | Australia/NZ | PB
Minefields and Miniskirts:  Australian Women and the Vietnam War
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Minefields and Miniskirts: Australian Women and the Vietnam War

Terence O’Connell

If history is told by the victors, the story of war is usually told by the blokes. Now it's the ‘sheilas' turn. Nearly a thousand Australian women had a part in the Vietnam War as entertainers, typists, consular staff and army nurses. The one thing they have in common is that their lives were changed forever by Vietnam. For many of them it was the most vital and alive they have ever felt.

Minefields and Miniskirts records the voices of those who were actually there; ordinary woman revealing how they survived a war and discovered what they believed in. Adapted from Siobhan McHugh's book, this play reveals through a collage of true stories, the extraordinary experiences of ordinary women in surviving a war.

RESOURCES

Playwright
Click here to listen to Terence O'Connell's views on authorship, the ethical dilemmas of community engagement, and his favourite moment from the play.

Oral Historian
Click here to listen to Siobhan McHugh speak about what an oral historian is - the role, the responsibilities and the origins. Plus, Siobhan talks about interview technique, community response, and authorship.

Education Resource Notes 
Available from the Malthouse Theatre. The notes include interviews with key artists, playwrights and directors plus activities and questions for discussion and analysis. For more information go to malthousetheatre.com.au.
Cast : Cast: 5F
Performance Rights : Ken Moffatt kmoffat@loulakiblue.com
Currency Press | 978-0-86819-762-3 | PB
Modern International Dead, The
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Modern International Dead, The

Damien Millar
'funny, irreverent, passionate and provocative' Mark Hopkins, SMH

'Millar's tapestry of reportage is engrossing, suspenseful and irreverently humorous' Sun Herald

Every year, a tiny group of unique individuals give up a regular lifestyle to begin an extraordinary undertaking. Banding together, they are recruited to bring relief to the world’s trouble spots. Delivering humanitarian or medical aid, they offer hope to those living on the edge of human tolerance … well, at least, that’s what they signed up for.

Damien Millar explores the intentions, adversities and fears of Australians on the front line. Revealing personal stories with a compassionate eye and a gallows humour, he offers a compelling, practical perspective on international aid.

The Modern International Dead is ‘witness theatre’ at its most potent – the insiders’ view on global change today, and the world we hope for tomorrow.

Winner of the 2008 Sydney Theatre Award for Best New Australian Work



Read an extract of The Modern International Dead (pdf)
   
Cast : 2M, 1F
Performance Rights : no agent
Currency Press | 978-0-86819-835-4 | PB
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