Voices of Truth
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A group of concerned Suncoast citizens has formed a readers' theatre to perform Simon Levy's critically acclaimed play, What I Heard About Iraq. This compelling play is told completely through quotes from key political figures, American soldiers, and Iraqi civilians. Simon describes the play as a "cry, a clarion call" that gives voice "to the most important historical event of this generation." He says that the power of the play "is that it is both a cognitive and emotional map of how we got into the war in Iraq and the consequences of what it means to be there." This play is an invitation for all of us to take an honest look at what is going on in the Iraq war. It is truth-telling in the purest sense, which means that it is not taking sides, rather, it challenges everyone to see more of the truth through the many different voices of the characters in the play. |
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Simon based his play on the prose poem of the same title by poet Eliot Weinberger (available as published in the London Review of Books: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n03/wein01_.html). Simon has brought the play up-to-date from the 2005 period covered by Eliot's poem.
Each performance of the 70 minute play is followed by a Talk-Back between special guests, the cast and director, and the audience. This provides a rare opportunity for dialog about people's thoughts and feelings about the Iraq war.
Schedule of Performances
What I Heard About Iraq
A play by Simon Levy from the prose poem by Eliot Weinberger
- Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 8:30 P.M.
Southeastern Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends
Leesburg, Florida - We are in process of scheduling more performances at Florida west coast venues. We will post them here as soon as they have been confirmed. If you would like to schedule a performance for your church, mosque, temple, civic organization, or other venue, please contact us!
Contacts
If you want more information or if you are interested in participating in productions of this play in the Tampa Bay area please contact John Arnaldi at (813) 988-0734.
Local Article
Reviews of the Play
- http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/la/la192.html
- http://www.bbc.co.uk/southerncounties/content/articles/2007/05/09/bf07_iraq_feature.shtml
- http://www.thestage.co.uk/edinburgh/reviews/review.php/13649/what-i-heard-about-iraq
- http://www.broadwaybaby.com/edinburgh/fringe/reviews/whatiheardaboutiraq
We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people.
—Martin Luther King, Jr.