YES on 34: An Evening at The Residence of the British Consul-General...and news of a Havel trilogy.

This evening, I was honoured to be in the company of a group of people with warm hearts and we hope for the sake of the Yes on 34 campaign, deep pockets! 

We'll take it as a given that the "deep pockets" do not belong to us impecunious theatre types. None the less, I plan to do all I can to support Prop 34.  Thanks to Kim Manning-Cooper of Amnesty International UK for inviting me. We last saw each other some twenty-three years ago in the corridors of the college we shared. You must have a portrait in the attic Kim and if you drink enough and squint your eyes you'll see that I haven't aged a bit either!

Joking aside, I'm incredibly proud of Kim and all the work she is doing on behalf of Amnesty.

Tonight, the eloquence of the speakers drove home the importance of this issue, not just in terms that we are sadly familiar with: the miscarriages of justice, the position of other death penalty regimes around the world in relation to the stance of the U.S. but also in economic terms; a central theme of the campaign's thrust to abolish the penalty in a state that is currently broke beyond belief.

In other news (and since I spent so much time telling anyone who would listen) it really is time we had some mention of the Havel project on this website. 

I'm delighted that Theatrum Elysium have invited me to direct three one act plays by the great Czech writer Vaclav Havel this autumn. The Vanek Trilogy, springs from Havel's own experiences as a dissident writer living under the regime of the former Czechoslovakia. Central to these plays are the character's relationship with the material world and their moral world. As such, the make for astutely relevant pieces today and are as deeply psychological as they are political.

The plays will be performed at the company's new home in La Crescenta (and NOT, as I wrongly asserted this evening in Downtown LA). 

Theatrum Elysium is a fledgling company that started life in a 10, 000 sq. ft warehouse space in the heart of Downtown LA, before moving to their new home in La Cresenta. They are making a name for themselves with bold and imaginative productions that appeal to a counter culture of theatregoers in the Los Angeles area who are looking for a stirring and potent theatrical experience that will live as long in the memory as it will in the heart.

Watch this space for news and details of the production or click here for the Theatrum Elysium website.