MONDAY 3/3/03 ACTION IN PARLIAMENT SQUARE
rikki | 27.02.2003 00:13
Demos are not allowed in Parliament Square, but organisers have got a permit to do a "performance" on Monday morning, so please send this message out far and wide and let's see how many people we can get down there :)
Monday the 3rd of March sees performances of the 'Lysistrata' all over the world. More than 600 readings or performances are already notified. This Ancient Greek comedy tells of a women's 'sex strike' in order to stop their menfolk from going to war.
In London, organisers are expecting hundreds of actors including many well-known names to take part in a short reading from a modern adaptation of the play by Tony Harrison. Although demonstrations are not permitted in Parliament Square when Parliament is sitting, organisers have managed to get permission for this as it is a 'performance'.
Please use all your email contacts to spread the word and try to get as many people to come as possible, to watch, support or take part.
10.30am Meet at Parliament Square
11.00am Performers will don white gags and there will be three minutes of silence
11.03am Rhythms of Resistance will provide a couple of minutes of drumming while the gags are removed and unfurled to create hundreds of white peace flags with first names of each performer written on them.
11.05am Performers will read the extract from the play in unison.
11.10am The unfurled flags will be hung on lines above Brian's one-man peace vigil in Parliament Square.
This action is highly symbolic, and because of the large number of actors including some very familiar names, will attract a lot of mainstream media attention.
If we can fill the Square with thousands of supporters it will have even more impact.
There are more readings of Lysistrata planned during the day and evening, with a rehearsed reading at the Pleasance Theatre near Caledonian Road at 7.30pm. An entrance charge of £5 will raise funds for the War Child charity (www.warchild.co.uk)
For more info about the whole project see www.lysistrataproject.com
In London, organisers are expecting hundreds of actors including many well-known names to take part in a short reading from a modern adaptation of the play by Tony Harrison. Although demonstrations are not permitted in Parliament Square when Parliament is sitting, organisers have managed to get permission for this as it is a 'performance'.
Please use all your email contacts to spread the word and try to get as many people to come as possible, to watch, support or take part.
10.30am Meet at Parliament Square
11.00am Performers will don white gags and there will be three minutes of silence
11.03am Rhythms of Resistance will provide a couple of minutes of drumming while the gags are removed and unfurled to create hundreds of white peace flags with first names of each performer written on them.
11.05am Performers will read the extract from the play in unison.
11.10am The unfurled flags will be hung on lines above Brian's one-man peace vigil in Parliament Square.
This action is highly symbolic, and because of the large number of actors including some very familiar names, will attract a lot of mainstream media attention.
If we can fill the Square with thousands of supporters it will have even more impact.
There are more readings of Lysistrata planned during the day and evening, with a rehearsed reading at the Pleasance Theatre near Caledonian Road at 7.30pm. An entrance charge of £5 will raise funds for the War Child charity (www.warchild.co.uk)
For more info about the whole project see www.lysistrataproject.com
rikki
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Lysistrata Project London + beyond
27.02.2003 09:32
FIRST EVER WORLDWIDE THEATRE EVENT FOR PEACE
03/03/03
Welcome to Lysistrata Project London
On Monday March 3rd this year (03/03/03), members of the theatre community throughout the world, opposed to the threatened War on Iraq will be performing readings of Lysistrata to voice their protest.
To date, nearly 800 readings of the play will occur in 42 countries - those figures increase hourly! Throughout the world, thousands of performers will be taking part in the readings.
I write to invite you to come and support Lysistrata Project London, the London-leg of this historic event. Our plan is to have a day of activity, which begins with members of the theatre community (performers, directors, playwrights, etc. etc)coming together to form a "Massed Greek Chorus of Disapproval" and read a chorus from Lysistrata at 11am on 03/03/03 at Parliament Square, with a full media call. Full details of this performance will be on this website soon, but the whole "performance" will only require around half an hour of your time (assemble at 10:45am).
The Mayor of London’s office has granted us special permission to use Parliament Square for this public reading/performance. It is therefore vital that the government becomes our captive audience
The day will culminate in a rehearsed reading of Tony Harrison’s "Lysistrata - The Common Chorus – Part I" at the Pleasance theatre by our core company of actors. We are delighted that Mr Harrison has granted us permission to use his adaptation of the play at the Pleasance as it has never had a public performance.
We would like to encourage performers who would like to form a "splinter group" to stage their own readings in London throughout the day to do so - see links below.
Tickets for the reading at the Pleasance are only £5 and are selling fast. Call the Pleasance on 020 7609 1800 to secure your seat and support our "Stop the War" message. I do hope you will be able to join us at one of the events during the day.
- If you would like to join us in Parliament Square for the "Massed Greek Chorus of Disapproval" -
- If you would like to Spearhead your own splinter group -
- If you would like to join a splinter group in your area -
We look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Amanda Stephens Lee
London Spearhead
..................................
OTHER LOCATIONS
see
Hertfordshire
David Macgregor
Rudolf Steiner School
Hull
J Michael Walton/University of Hull
Leicester
Clive and Dana Bagshaw
Lincoln
J. Bowtell/Converse Theatre
Liverpool
Llewellyn Llew
London
Lysistrata Project London
London's Main Event!
London
Online Lysistrata cyber-reading with Finland & NZ!
London-Brixton (SE London)
Laura Atkins
The 100 Pub
London-Stoke Newington
Anna Birch
Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
D. Heaney/Northern Stage Co.
& J. Herrin/Live Theatre Co.
North Yorkshire
Liz Ryan/Historic Selby Abbey
Northamptonshire
Richard Conlon
University College Northampton
Oxford
Alexandra Gillespie
Balliol College
Walton on Thames
Colin Dolley
Riverhouse Barn Theatre
Warwickshire
J. Claridge/The Loft Theatre
Winchester
Annie McKean
london lass