The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman,
Directed by Roy Ward (ATC Associate Director)

"Kaufman is pioneering a new genre of theatre. He aims for a radical redefinition of what theatre is capable of." - Time.

"It's a good place to live - good people, lots of space." So begins Detective Sergeant Hing of the Laramie Police Department. Hing is one of the almost 70 characters who populate The Laramie Project, a piece of theatre which has become a classic since the tragic events that lead to its inception in 1998.The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman,
Directed by Roy Ward (ATC Associate Director)

"Kaufman is pioneering a new genre of theatre. He aims for a radical redefinition of what theatre is capable of." - Time.

"It's a good place to live - good people, lots of space." So begins Detective Sergeant Hing of the Laramie Police Department. Hing is one of the almost 70 characters who populate The Laramie Project, a piece of theatre which has become a classic since the tragic events that lead to its inception in 1998."Laramie, Wyoming (think Brokeback country) was a small town - pop. 26,687 - thrust into the international spotlight when Matthew Shepard, a gay university student, was savagely beaten by two young Laramie men. The media frenzy that followed overwhelmed the community. Wyoming, touted as 'the equality state', was suddenly defending itself, as a story-hungry media began hunting headlines. Matt's death a few days after the beating only served to inflame and polarise a nation, and then, a world.

A month after the attack, the Tectonic Theatre Project from New York began conducting and transcribing interviews with Wyoming residents, discovering that small-town America had a lot to say. The company returned to Laramie several times, compiling over two hundred interviews.

What emerged is a stark and honest array of attitudes, not only towards homosexuality, but right across the board. The best storytelling occurs when people are simply allowed to speak. The Laramie Project does that. Suffice to say, small-town America does not often get a partisan portrayal by its media outlets, but what minority does? Here, the opinions are frank, enlightening and engaging. At times, hilarious.

The play itself is composed of monologues - moments placed alongside and through one another, juxtaposed so they become comedic, or devastating.

Should art reflect society or society, art? What The Laramie Project does is challenge our preconceptions, reminding us that tolerance means many things to many people. It is triumphant, tragic and undeniably human.

"Audiences can expect to be informed, moved, and entertained. It's the kind of play we don't get to see very often; a unique text" said Roy Ward, director of The Laramie Project. "It is very even-handed and it represents a large cross-section of people in the town. It is not really about the young man who was killed. It is really about how a divided community copes with grief".

The Laramie Project
Thursday 6 April 7pm
Saturday 8 April Matinee 2pm
Monday 10 April 7pm
Wednesday 12 April 7pm
Friday 14 April 7pm
Saturday 15 April 7pm

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