La MaMa Presents PRISONER AT THE WORLD'S END by R.Johns

La MaMa presents PRISONER AT THE WORLD'S END by R.Johns.

Prisoner at the World's End is a Kafkaesque imagining arising out of the grim and grotesque circumstances of Julian Assange's imprisonment.

The play explores Assange's predicament through the eyes of three very different women who work in a volunteer café at His Majesty's Prison Belmarsh. Over the course of their day, as they work in a small room making sandwiches for inmates and visitors, they argue if Assange, the Australian in the High Security Unit is like the man in the parable, set upon by thieves, and left abandoned on a roadside until a Good Samaritan finds and helps him.

Beneath their feet runs a Neolithic pathway. Does violent primitive justice and magical thinking, still permeate the walls within England's most notorious prison and justice system?

Prisoner at the World's End was inspired by playwright R.Johns hearing Assange's lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, speak at La Mama Courthouse 2022 at the “Day of the Imprisoned Writer” hosted by PEN (worldwide association of Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Novelists), where she was interviewed by Barrie Cassidy, talking about Julian Assange's plight and the terrible physical conditions of Belmarsh Prison.

Johns says, “Imprisoned in solitary, at the behest of a foreign government, while they wait for Assange's extradition for truth telling makes his contemporary situation Kafkaesque having already spent seven years inside the Ecuadorean embassy.

“I read in an interview, Assange's favourite part of Anna Karenina was when the dogs talk, revealing the irrationality of their owners .This guided the incorporation of a scene in this play where cats talk, revealing the irrationality of political decision making.”

Johns is known for creating political work that isn't afraid to take risks: 2017's Black Box 149, State Theatre of Nuremberg, where she was their first produced Australian playwright. She was also nominated for an AWGIE in 2016 with World War One story As Told By The Boys Who Fed Me Apples.

Prisoner at the World's End will also be livestreamed on Friday 14 Nov at 7.30pm.The livestream playback will be available for 72 hours after the show.

SEASON: Nov 15 (Preview)  - Nov 26

TIMES: Wed 6.30pm Thur, Fri, Sat 7.30pm Sun: 4pm CONTENT WARNING: Reference to violence

VENUE: La Mama HQ, 203 Faraday St, Carlton
LENGTH: Approx. 80 minutes

TICKETS: $30 Adult | $20 Concession | $8 Mob

BOOKINGS: 03 9347 6948 or www.lamama.com.au

To post a comment, you must register and login.