Saturday 12th October – 7.30pm
Sunday 13th October 2013 – 2.30pm (Q&A after the show)
Tickets: £10
LONDON THEATRE WORKSHOP presents
A play by Moises Kaufmann and The Members of Tectonic Theater Project
Directed by Brandon Force and presented by arrangement with Josef Weinberger Ltd
A Staged Reading of the ground-breaking, momentous play that explores a community’s reactions and opinions in the wake of a young, gay man’s brutal beating and murder.
On October 12th, 1998, Matthew Shepard died as a result of injuries sustained in an attack 5 days prior which took place just outside of Laramie, Wyoming. Exactly 15 years later, to the day, the London Theatre Workshop presents a staged reading of this pioneering piece of theatre, written verbatim from hundreds of interviews with the inhabitants of the town.
We at the London Theatre Workshop believe whole-heartedly in the value and timeliness of presenting this piece of theatre in light of the atrocities being committed currently in Russia, where authorities are standing by as hate crimes against gay people multiply. In June of this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a bill banning gay “propaganda”, sparking numerous protests across the country wherein gay individuals and their supporters have been physically assaulted, in some instances by the police themselves. Additionally, gays are being targeted throughout Russia because of their sexual orientation and brutally attacked, while the authorities turn a blind eye. But hate crimes are by no means exclusive to Russia: this type of incident is happening all over the world, with alarming frequency. Between June and August, 2013, gay individuals have been physically attacked because of their sexual orientation in New York City, Chicago, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Texas, Haiti, Belfast, Oxford, Sunderland, Newfoundland, Calgary, amongst other places. This staged reading is our response to the aforementioned incidents and the on-going situation in Russia. We wish to promote Matthew Shepard’s legacy of combating hate with understanding, compassion, and acceptance.
For every ticket sold, a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
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