iceandfire Theatre Company is a London-based charity. Its stated mission is to explore human rights stries through performace. The organisation is divided into four strands: production, education, outreach (Actors for Human Rights) and participation (Everyone Has The Right) a joint initiative with Amnesty International.
Their Patrons include award-winning actor Juliet Stevenson, Greens MEP Jean Lambert and playwright Steve Waters.[1]
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iceandfire was founded in 2003 by playwright Sonja Linden[2] inspired by her seven years as writer in residence at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture.
Their first theatrical production was I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given to me by a Young Lady From Rwanda (2003), which has since been performed across Europe and the United States of America.[3][4][5] Other productions are listed below.
On the Record by Christine Bacon and Noah Birksted-Breen.
On the Record premiered 20 July – 13 August in Studio 1, Arcola Theatre as part of their opening season in their new premises. Directed by Michael Longhurst Designer Chloe Lamford Cast: Nathalie Armin, Paul Bhattacharjee, Michelle Bonnard, Kika Markham, Selva Rasalingam and Trevor White.
Sri Lankan brothers Lal and Lasantha dare to publish stories that others won’t touch, but at what cost? Meanwhile, in Mexico Lydia uncovers a child pornography ring involving senior politicians, Elena has a run in with the Moscow mafia, Amira reports direct from the Israeli-occupied territories and Zoriah comes up against the US Military over his Iraq war images.
Combining searing verbatim testimony with dramatic reconstruction, On the Record circumnavigates the globe to bring you true stories of six independent journalists, all linked by their determination to shed light on the truth.
Welcome to Ramallah (2008) by Sonja Linden and Adah Kay
Synopsis: It's late afternoon when a Jewish woman arrives at her sister's home in the occupied city of Ramallah. Dusk settles and with the call to prayer come neighbours - an uncle and nephew - to greet the new arrival. As night falls an unexpected curfew prompts the sharing of old stories which threaten to tear apart the fragile harmony of the sisters' memories.[6] Launched at the Arcola Theatre in London and Theatre Royal York.
Crocodile Seeking Refuge (2005) by Sonja Linden
Synopsis: Five individuals have sought asylum in the UK - from Africa to Iraq, Latin America to Iran. Linking them all is asylum lawyer, Harriet, whose dedication to her job begins to play havoc with her marriage. When her relationships begin to blur the personal and professional we are confronted with the question: 'Where must we set our boundaries?'[7]
I Have Before Me a Remarkable Document Given To Me by a Young Lady From Rwanda (2003) by Sonja Linden
Synopsis: "They came to our house in the morning. Some of them were our neighbours. The president had been killed in the night. On the radio they said nobody can go out or they will be shot. We all stayed together the whole night. And in the morning there was a knock at the door. Our next door neighbour he said 'Now is the time for all the Tutsi cockroaches to die.'"[8] Launched at the Finborough Theatre.
iceandfire have worked with schools, colleges and universities across the UK to encourage students to engage with the stories told in their plays and performances. They also run workshops, including creative writing workshops, devised drama and text based work.
iceandfire's first play for young people, Separated, emerged from a series of drama workshops run with young refugees and unaccompanied minors.[9]
Actors for Human Rights was formerly known as Actors for Refugees. The original network was formed in Melbourne, Australia, in September 2001, in the wake of a series of aggressive and controversial actions by the Australian government towards asylum seekers arriving by boat.
Founding members Alice Garner and Kate Atkinson [1] wanted to use Australian actors to influence community attitudes toward refugees and asylum seekers and to encourage a humanitarian response to their plight.
The UK actors' network was launched in June 2006 at Amnesty International and now consists of well over 300 professional actors and musicians.
The outreach network responds to requests for rehearsed readings of documentary plays and they can go anywhere at any time. The scripts are made up of verbatim accounts from individuals who have suffered human rights abuses.
Because of the simplicity and documentary nature of the scripts, the performances do not need lengthy rehearsal or direction and are simply read out by a constantly changing cast, usually accompanied by a live score.
Juliet Stevenson, Sinéad Cusack, Simon Callow,[10] Dan Stevens (The Line of Beauty), Hayley Atwell (Brideshead Revisited), Thusitha Jayasundera (The Bill), Shobna Gulati (Coronation Street), Shobu Kapoor (Eastenders) and Sam Spruell (London to Brighton) are amongst the professional actors that support the project.
Documentary scripts include Asylum Monologues, Asylum Dialogues, Rendition Monologues, Palestine Monologues, The Illegals and Broke.[11]
Everyone Has the Right (2009–2010) is a playwrighting submission scheme with Amnesty International UK. Playwrights are encouraged to submit scripts that they feel have human rights stories at their heart. It is a development of the earlier Protect the Human competition.[12]
Children Together (2009) is a sound and movement play project designed to develop aural, kinesthetic and social skills in children under five. The project provides an opportunity to improve play for those children from a refugee background.[13]
Protect the Human playwriting competition (2007/08), run in partnership with Amnesty International UK provides a platform for excellent theatre that makes real and relevant the impact of human rights on our everyday lives.[14]
Darfur House (2005). To raise awareness of Africa 2005 and Refugee Week iceandfire worked with four members of the Massalit tribe from Darfur in Western Sudan and the V&A Museum of Childhood, to create an interactive exhibit on 'Home'. In the grounds of the Museum in Tower Hamlets, East London, the men built a replica of the home in which they had lived in Darfur. A traditional Darfur house consists of a wooden frame coated with mud and dung and a thatched straw roof. Permanent within the structures was a sound installation on the theme of 'Home': an amalgamation of voice and music. The voices recorded were those of local primary school children discussing what home meant to them.