| My Name is Rachel Corrie | Bareboards Productions |
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“Death smells like homemade apple sauce as it cooks on the stove. It
is not the strangling sense of illness. It is not fear. It is freedom.” – Rachel Corrie, Aged 14[1]
Five years since peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed by an Israeli
bulldozer in the Gaza town of Rafah, My Name is Rachel Corrie is coming
to Belvoir St Theatre. The acclaimed and revered play based on the
journals and writings of Rachel from her childhood bedroom in Olympia,
Washington, to her death in Gaza, will have its Australasian premiere
on May 14.
Rachel Corrie was a volunteer with the International Solidarity
Movement, a non-violent pro-Palestinian activist group. Within days of
her death on March 16 2003, the numerous vivid and expressive emails
she had sent her family and friends, as well as many of her lifelong
journal entries, were published, with the consent of her family, and
Rachel Corrie was given new life.
Adapted for the stage in 2005 by actor Alan Rickman and journalist
Katharine Viner, My Name is Rachel Corrie is the story of one woman’s
journey in the global struggle for sense and justice. The play offers a
transportative and deeply personal insight into the journey from apathy
to action.
The play has seen two sell-out runs in London and seasons across
America and Canada, including a controversial, last-minute cancellation
in New York. Two days after the Belvoir St Theatre opening, the first
Arabic version of the play will premiere in Israel.
Director Shannon Murphy says, “Rarely do I come across a play that is
such a phenomenal read it makes me leap off the sofa in amazement. My
Name is Rachel Corrie did that for me.
“Rachel’s story speaks to people with a passion, or people with the
desire to find one. Rachel’s strong sense of service is something that
is both enlightening and tragic. Our aim is to ensure our production is
as raw, delightful, powerful and motivating as Rachel’s words. We are
very lucky to have this production in Australia and look forward to
recreating Rachel’s life and story in the intimate Downstairs Belvoir
St Theatre space,” she said.
My Name is Rachel Corrie opens on 14 May at the Belvoir St Downstairs
Theatre, with Belinda Bromilow (Boy gets Girl, McLeod’s Daughters, The
Rage in Placid Lake) playing the title role.
'We look to our theatres to be our independent forum, our pulpit, our
truth teller and witness. Plays written in blood like My Name Is Rachel
Corrie are not meant to be "acceptable" or reach a consensus"…Nor
should our theatre be "fair" and balanced like a boring op-ed page.
Give us plays of passion and commitment, for heaven's sake - not
caution, compliance, and fear.” – Kelly Stuart, Playwright, April 2006
www.rachelcorrie.org
"Deeply, authentically human. If Rachel's Corrie's views provoke
emotions and inspire debate, isn't that part of the purpose of art?" – USA Today
"Heartbreaking urgency. An invigorating detailed portrait of a
passionate idealist. Rachel Corrie had a voice that was emphatically
her own. There's a redeeming grit in her writing and a feeling of
energy that could burn. Her sense of the world gone so awry that it
forces her to question her 'fundamental belief in the goodness of human
nature' is sure to strike sadly familiar chords." – The New York Times
"Here is a play where the real dialogue begins when the curtain
comes down. Rachel Corrie was a powerful writer – charming, quirky,
funny – and given to painting strong images in a memorable voice.
Artfully adapted by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner. My Name is Rachel
Corrie is theater that not only stirs our hearts but sticks in our
heads" – Newsweek
Bareboards Productions and B Sharp present
My Name is Rachel Corrie
The writings of Rachel Corrie
Edited by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner
Directed by Shannon Murphy
Companion Artist Wesley Enoch
Designer Andy McDonell
Lighting Designer Matt Schubach
With Belinda Bromilow
Venue: Belvoir St Downstairs Theatre, 25 Belvoir St, Surry Hills
Preview: 14 May 2008
Season: 14 May – 8 June 2008. No show Thurs 5 June
Times: Tues 7pm, Wed-Sat 8.15pm, Sun 5.15pm
Tickets: $29/$23 (Preview $20, Cheap Tues Pay-what-you-can min $10)
Bookings: 9699 3444 or www.belvoir.com.au
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Thursday, 08 January 2009
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