Guardians (play)

Guardians (play)

"Guardians" is an Off-Broadway play written by Peter Morris. It debuted at the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, winning the "Fringe First Award" and made its New York debut on April 11, 2006 at The Culture Project.

ynopsis

In London, a tabloid journalist finds an opportunity to further his career by manufacturing photographs supposedly depicting British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners. He is identified only as "English Boy". This story is intercut with the confessional monologue of a young United States Army soldier from West Virginia who becomes a scapegoat in a scandal involving photographs of actual abuse. She is identified only as "American Girl".

It is later revealed that English Boy is a sexual sadist, taking pleasure in torturing his partners and taking advantage of his boyfriend's masochism for his own pleasure. It is also revealed that American Girl had an abusive sexual relationship with a superior officer. It is implied that these relationships may have furthered the main characters' descent.

Inspiration

The story of American Girl is loosely based on that of Lynndie England, who was convicted of misconduct in the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. That of the British journalist is based on a 2004 scandal at "The Daily Mirror", where a fabricated photograph depicting Iraqi abuse at British soldiers' hands was published.

Karen J. Greenberg--who is Executive Director of the Center on Law and Security at the NYU School of Law and the author of The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib, The Torture Debate in America, and Al Qaeda Now--praised Morris's play highly, and published an article on Peter Morris and Guardians, in which she claims that the play represents a "truly profound" analysis of America's role in, and response to, the Abu Ghraib scandal. Greenberg's article, entitled "Split Screens", originally appeared in The American Prospect magazine; it is included in a 2007 book of essays entitled "One of the Guys: Women as Aggressors and Torturers", edited by Tara McKelvey with foreword by Barbara Ehrenreich and afterword by Cynthia Enloe. Greenberg's essay concludes with this praise for the play:

"Who, really, are the victimizers? ... The answer is complex, but would come to light with some clarity in an independent investigation or Congressional inquiry ... Until this occurs, however, the American public will have to glean what it can from the words of a playwright." (Greenberg, "Split Screens")

August - September 2005 Edinburgh Fringe / London Run

Actors

*Hywel John - English Boy
*MyAnna Buring - American Girl

The play premiered at the Pleasance Theatre for the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and immediately transferred to The Latchmere Theatre in London. The script received a 2005 "Fringe First" Award and was the runner-up for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award.

April 11, 2006 - May 25, 2006 Culture Project Run

Actors

*Lee Pace - English Boy
*Katherine Moennig - American Girl

Note: Lee Pace was nominated for a 2007 Lucille Lortel award for Outstanding Actor in a Lead Role for his performance.

Personnel

*Peter Morris - Writer
*Jason Moore - Director
*Richard Hoover - Set Designer
*Garin Marschall - Lighting
*Michelle R. Philips - Costume Designer
*Thomas J. Gates - Production Stage Manager
*Culture Project - General Manager

May 8, 2006 - May 10, 2006 Newrite Theatre Company (Taunton, UK) Run

"(Repeated again on July 28, 2006 as part of the Westival-the Arts Fest of the West.)"

Actors

*James Foster - English Boy
*Rebecca Wearing - American Girl

Personnel

*Peter Morris - Writer
*Sebastian Petit - Director
*Sebastian Petit - Set Designer
*Sebastian Petit - Lighting
*Brewhouse Theatre/Robert Miles - Director

July 2, 2008 - July 5, 2008 Manhattan Theatre Source

Actors
*Zack Abramowitz - English Boy
*Meryl Sykes - American Girl

Personnel
*Peter Morris - Writer
*Joseph Giardina - Director
*Stephanie Caragliano - Stage Manager
*Alex Casagrande - Lighting

References

* [http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=11376 "Split Screens" by Karen J. Greenberg (an essay on "Guardians" by Abu Ghraib expert)]

* [http://theater2.nytimes.com/2006/04/13/theater/reviews/13guar.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1145419418-+b9ILQCf3R3EU6TiCfg1Vw New York Times "Guardians" review]

* [http://www.theatresource.org/ Manhattan Theatre Source Homepage]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • guardians — The guardians of the Republic of Plato are a combination of the protectors and governors of the state. Their temperament and education is the subject of the latter parts of a large portion of part ii of the work. They play the role of the… …   Philosophy dictionary

  • Play Hit — Game One Création 6 septembre 1998 Slogan « La chaîne télé des jeux vidéo » (1998 2002) « La chaîne des jeux vidéo » (2002 2004) « La télé très joueuse » (2004 2006) « La chaîne de la génération… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole — Theatrical release poster Directed by Zack Snyder …   Wikipedia

  • List of guardians in A Series of Unfortunate Events — In the children s book series A Series of Unfortunate Events , Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire live with various guardians following the death of their parents. After a brief stay with Mr. Poe and their fateful residence with Count Olaf, the… …   Wikipedia

  • Guardian — may refer to: * Legal guardianNewspapersIn the United Kingdom* The Guardian , founded in 1821 as the Manchester Guardian and renamed in 1959 * The Guardian (1713), founded in 1713 and running only briefly * The Guardian (Anglican newspaper), an… …   Wikipedia

  • Tripuri culture — Children in Tripura prepare for a traditional dance. The Tripuri culture of North East India has many important aspects to it. Contents 1 Rules …   Wikipedia

  • John Roberts Supreme Court nomination — The Senate hearings on the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court, began on September 12, 2005, with U.S. Senators posing questions to Roberts, who was nominated by President George W. Bush to fill the vacancy of Chief Justice of the… …   Wikipedia

  • John G. Roberts — Infobox Chief Justice name = John Glover Roberts, Jr. imagesize = caption = office = 17th Chief Justice of the United States termstart = September 29 2005 termend = nominator = George W. Bush appointer = predecessor = William Rehnquist office2 =… …   Wikipedia

  • The Haverford School — Infobox Private School background = #f0f6fa border = #ccd2d9 name = The Haverford School established = 1884 type = Private religion = None head name = Headmaster head = Dr. Joseph Cox city = Haverford state = PA country = USA campus = Suburban… …   Wikipedia

  • wage and salary — ▪ economics Introduction       income derived from human labour. Technically, wages and salaries cover all compensation made to employees for either physical or mental work, but they do not represent the income of the self employed. Labour costs… …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”