Irish journalist and film documentarian Phelim McAleer will tackle one of the most provocative events in recent U.S. history. FERGUSON – The Play explores the controversial killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014. A special preview is being held at Atlas Performing Arts Center on Wednesday, April 15th starting at 7pm and DCTS readers are invited.
FERGUSON – The Play tells the story of the police shooting that led to weeks of protests using “Verbatim Theatre,” the writing of a play using exact testimony. The event will be reenacted on stage using only actual testimony that was made before the Missouri Grand Jury that investigated the event and considered whether to bring charges against Police Officer Darren Wilson.
McAleer believes Verbatim Theatre, a technique developed by Tricycle Theatre UK (whose The Great Game: Afghanistan came to STC in 2011) is the best method to uncover the truth about the Ferguson, Missouri incident. On his Indiegogo fundraising page he states:
“A lot of people lied about what they saw that day. They lied to supp(ort both sides. They lied to the media, they lied online, and they lied to investigators. Many admitted this to the Grand Jury, but the media never corrected the record.”
On Wednesday evening, April 15th, excerpts from the play will be performed after which lawyers from the Washington DC area will ask the questions posed by lawyers during the Grand Jury process while professional actors respond as the witnesses. McAleer will hold a Q&A session afterwards.
The full version of FERGUSON – The Play will have its world premiere in Los Angeles on April 26 at the Odyssey Theatre. Following each performance the audience will vote on who they think was telling the truth and whether officer Wilson should have been indicted.
As he has for previous projects, McAleer is crowdsourcing FERGUSON through Indiegogo. His page includes more background on FERGUSON – The Play, along with a YouTube video discussion by the playwright.
The event is by invitation, and McAleer extends that invitation to our readers. There is no cost to attend Wednesday night’s event, McAleer told DCTS. However, his company asks that those interested in attending the event RSVP at [email protected]
FERGUSON – The Play
Atlas Performing Arts Center
Theatre Lab 2
1333 H St NE,
Washington, DC 20002
Wednesday, April 15th, 7pm
Required: RSVP: [email protected]
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