Freedom Forum Theatre Club: ‘Sticks and Stones’, Tristan Bates Theatre, London

We’ll meet at the Tristan Bates Theatre to see the new play ‘Sticks and Stones’ which explores some thorny questions related to identity politics, class and freedom of speech.

After the play, we’ll be going to a nearby bar for a drink with playwright Dameon Garnett who will be available to chat about Stick and Stones and the issues it raises around freedom – including why The Actors Centre cancelled the planned post-performance in-conversation at the theatre that was to explore the issues around freedom raised by the play.

Anyone coming to this meetup can take advantage of the Living Freedom group booking tickets at a reduced price of £5 (full price is £15). These must be booked through Paypal below.

‘STICKS AND STONES’ (2020)
see https://www.actorscentre.co.uk/theatre/sticks-and-stones

‘Under the law you are guilty, I would say, of a hate crime’.

Afua, a black senior manager in a secondary school, is asked to investigate online comments by a white colleague, Tina; a woman she thought was a friend. Do Tina’s comments constitute hate speech, and, if so, should the police get involved? Afua has always fought for women’s rights, and Tina is a wronged woman, but with an axe to grind that even Afua is not prepared for.

In an intensely claustrophobic setting, the clash between the two women becomes increasingly explosive; opening up questions around speech, power, race and class, that perhaps modern Britain is not ready to answer.

‘You can’t deny Garnett’s bruising energy’; Michael Billington, The Guardian