As part of her ongoing post-show Q&A series, Mates co-founder Terri Paddock will chair two events at the London premiere of The Time Of Our Lies at the Park Theatre. How much do you know about Howard Zinn? You should know more!
I’m delighted to return to the Park Theatre for two post-show discussions accompanying the London premiere of Bianca Bagatourian’s The Time Of Our Lies, inspired by the highly influential American historian and anti-war activist Howard Zinn…
“When I say history is a matter of life and death, I mean this: If you really don’t know history, you are a victim of whatever the authorities tell you. You have no way of checking up on them. You have no way of deciding whether there is any truth in what they are saying” – Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn was an American historian, professor and social activist, widely considered one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. His book, A People’s History of the United States, has sold two million copies and become required reading in schools worldwide.
The Time Of Our Lies explores Zinn’s personal history, including being a soldier who dropped bombs on Rouen, France in WWll. This fateful moment troubled him for the rest of his days and shaped the man who would become a moral compass for the United States in ways that are more relevant today than ever before.
This play features songs using Howard’s own words, combined with first-person accounts of war from other soldiers, all juxtaposed against an incongruously beautiful backdrop of Butoh movement.
The Edinburgh Fringe Festival run of The Time Of Our Lies was co-produced by Viggo Mortensen and sponsored by Eddie Vedder, Tom Shadyac, Myla Kabat-Zinn, Tim Robbins and was nominated for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award in 2014. The run at the Park Theatre is sponsored by the Vitalogy Foundation, the non-profit organisation founded by members of the band Pearl Jam.
The Time Of Our Lies is a battle cry for democracy, transparency and inclusion in our world – the play embodies Zinn’s battle for social justice and his lifelong struggle against false historical narratives written by those in power that poison the well for true democracy.
Two post-show events
Tuesday 30 July 2019 – The Zinn Factor
Who was Howard Zinn? How much has he influenced today’s political thinkers and leaders? What might he think about the state of democracy across the globe in 2019? And how did his work inspire this new stage play about his life? I’ll talk to the play’s author Bianca Bagatourian, who worked with Zinn before his death in 2010 and director Ché Walker.
Tuesday 6 August 2019 – Artivism
I’ll be joined by Bianca, Ché and members of the company about their experience working on The Time Of Our Lies and what fuels their own social and political activism.
Terri Paddock founded WhatsOnStage.com and the WhatsOnStage Awards, running the company and its events from 1996 to 2013. Terri is also the author of two novels, Come Clean and Beware the Dwarfs, and has previously written for the Evening Standard, Independent, The Times and other national publications. She is renowned for her 'legendary' post-show Q&As and also produces the annual Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and acts as a digital, content strategy and event consultant for theatre, producers and other clients. She tweets about theatre at @TerriPaddock.
