Fifth Wall
A few weeks ago 13 members of The Belarus Free Theatre (BFT) were arrested and held for 14 hours without food, water or sleep while enduring threats of rape and murder for participating in a peaceful demonstration against the rigged re-election of dictator Alexander Lukashanko. Belarus is one of the last remaining dictatorships in Europe and the BFT are forced to perform their work in secret locations because they are banned by the state. This is happening in 2011.
In light of the BFT’s arrest a call to action was put out asking theatres around the world to host free readings of the BFT’s new work, Being Harold Pinter. The text incorporates transcripts from Belarusian political prisoners with excerpts from Harold Pinter's lifetime of writings.
Bricolage, The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and Mark Staley are leading this call to action and reaching out to the Pittsburgh Arts community to stand in solidarity with BFT. On January 31st at 7:30PM we are set to present the reading along with movement pieces taken from Caryl Churchill’s Mad Forest. The World Affairs Council will provide a guest speaker to talk about Belarus and life under a dictatorship.
We live in a country where it is our birthright to create and present art without fear of retribution. This is a luxury in some parts of the world. We hope you will stand with us in support of the BFT, who risk their lives to do what we sometimes take for granted.
Date
Monday, January 31 at 7:30pm
Tickets
Free and open to the public.
Seating is limited.
tami@webbricolage.org for reservations
Location
Bricolage
937 Liberty Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
Participants
Featuring: Larry John Meyers, Martin Giles, Jeffrey Carpenter, Sheila McKenna, Michael Fuller, Mark Staley, Lisa Ann Goldsmith, Jarrod DiGiorgi, Rich Venezia, Mark C. Thompson, Jason McCune, Matthew Gray, Karen Baum, Holly Thuma, Lissa Brennan, Andrew Huntley and more. .
*Photo by W. Teodoro/WireImage.com
