National Theatre Wales' THE RADICALISATION OF BRADLEY MANNING Set for Edinburgh Fringe, Now thru Aug 25

National Theatre Wales' award-winning political production, The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning, is to be staged at a school in Edinburgh this summer, as part of both the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the British Council Showcase. It will be staged simultaneously on stage, and in a live stream via an interactive website.

Written by Tim Price, and directed by the company's artistic director, John E McGrath, this multimedia production tackles one of the most important political and digital stories of our age, and brings that story to both local and global audiences. It marries National Theatre Wales' reputation for making pioneering multiplatform work with the extraordinary story of Bradley Manning, who spent much of his adolescence in Haverfordwest, west Wales.

Bradley Manning is the 25-year old US soldier accused of releasing 250,000 secret embassy cables and military logs from the Iraq and Afghan wars. After three years in prison, Manning now faces a court martial, accused of crimes that could mean life in jail. But just a few years ago, he was a teenager in west Wales. How did this happen? And who is responsible for his radicalisation?

Performances of The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning will be live-streamed on a dedicated website - nationaltheatrewales.org/bradleymanning. Alongside this live stream, the site will host hyperlinks to websites, videos and articles relating to Bradley Manning's story, and a live comment stream to which the audience will be encouraged to contribute. The site will be free to view and available live, globally during all stage performances.

National Theatre Wales calls this 'hyper-connected theatre' - a combination of a live online transmission of the performance, hyperlinks to background information, and an opportunity for the online audience to interact through livechat.

The production was originally performed in schools across Wales in April 2012, and opened at Tasker Milward School, Haverfordwest, which Bradley attended in his teens. The live-stream was watched by more than 8,000 people in 76 countries around the world.

In January this year, The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning won three Theatre Critics of Wales Awards; Best Director (for John E McGrath), Best Use of Digital/Online Content and Best Ensemble.

The production is also shortlisted for the James Tait Black Award for Drama - one of only five shows shortlisted from 180 around the world. The winner will be announced on 5th August at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh.

Writer Tim Price's theatre credits include: I'm With the Band (Traverse Theatre/Wales Millenium Centre), Praxis Makes Perfect (National Theatre Wales/Barbican), Demos (Traverse Theatre), The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning (National Theatre Wales), For Once (Pentabus theatre/Hampstead Theatre), Salt Root and Roe (Donmar Warehouse - nominated for the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre). Tim's untitled play about the Occupy movement will premiere at The National Theatre at the end of the year.

Director John E McGrath is Artistic Director of National Theatre Wales. Previously Artistic Director of Contact Theatre, Manchester, John trained in New York, where he was also Associate Director of Mabou Mines. In 2005, he was awarded the NESTA Cultural Leadership Award. He directed National Theatre Wales' inaugural production, A Good Night Out In The Valleys, in March 2010, Love Steals Us from Loneliness in October 2010. In Water I'm Weightless in July 2012 and The Opportunity of Efficiency - the company's first international production - in a co-production with the New National Theatre Tokyo, in April 2013.

The cast of this year's production includes Matthew Aubrey, Naomi Everson, Harry Ferrier, Michael Gilhooly, Gwawr Loader and Kyle Rees.

Matthew Aubrey trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Theatre credits include: A Life of Galileo, The Orphan of Zhao and Boris Godunov (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Passion (National Theatre Wales/WildWorks), War Horse (National Theatre), Thoroughly Modern Millie and Love Labour's Lost (RWCM&D). Television credits include: Indian Doctor (Rondo Media), Framed (BBC), Privates (Twenty Twenty Television for BBC), Birdsong (WTTV), Gracie (BBC) and Sinking of Laconia (Talkback Thames/Teamworx). Film credits include: The Gospel of Us (Film Agency for Wales/National Theatre Wales/Rondo Media Production/WildWorks) and Dagenham Girls (Number 9 Films). Radio credits include: Lemon Meringue Pie (BBC Radio 4).

Naomi Everson trained at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Theatre credits include: Boston Marriage, Picnic, Anne Boleyn, The Cherry Orchard and Lower Depths (RWCM&D). Television credits include: Shelfstackers (E4), The Indian Doctor and Atlantis (BBC). Film credits include: The Zero Theorem (Mediapro studios) and Delight (Scenario films).

Harry Ferrier trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Theatre credits include: Before it Rains (Bristol Old Vic/Sherman Cymru), Rude:The Ska Musical (Give it a Name/Chapter Arts Centre), Caravaggio's Head and After the Storm (Both Sgript Cymru) and The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning (National Theatre Wales, 2012 tour).

Television credits include: Our Girl, Doctors, The Silence, Monroe, Dr. Who and Young Dracula (BBC), and I Shouldn't Be Alive (Discovery Channel). Film credits include: House of Boys (De Lux Productions), Nightwatching (Kassander Productions), Flick (Monster Films) and Calorie (Screen Academy Wales).

Michael Gilhooly trained at the London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art.

Theatre credits include: The Common Good (Arcola Theatre), Edmond (Theatre Royal Haymarket), Whatever Happened (Kings Head) and Joseph K, Festen, Julius Caesar, Racing Demon and Habeas Corpus (LAMDA).

Gwawr Loader trained at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Theatre credits include: Sky Hawk and Rape of the Fair Country (Clwyd Theatr Cymru), Dick Whittington (Torch Theatre), Sherman Swingers (Sherman Cymru), The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning (National Theatre Wales 2012 tour), Tonypandemonium and My People (script developments, National Theatre Wales) and Much Ado About Nothing (Mappa Mundi). Television credits include: Indian Doctor (Rondo for BBC Wales), Teulu (Apollo for S4C) and Uned 5 (Antena for S4C). Voiceover work: Hobsons Prize winner (2011), Tree Fu Tom (BBC Wales Interactive), commercials for Cardiff Council, Nickelodeon and MTV's The Valleys. Radio credits include: Carleton Hobbs team 2011 (winner for best duologue) and The Tempest (The Verb, BBC Radio 3).

Kyle Rees trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama.

Theatre credits include: Peter Pan (Sherman Cymru), The Passion (National Theatre Wales/WildWorks), Three Sisters, Black Snow, Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer's Night Dream, The American Clock, Hedda Gabler, Les Miserables, Blood Wedding, Seussical the Musical, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, and Sir, No Sir! (RSAM&D). Television credits include: Da Vinci's Demons (BBC), The Indian Doctor (BBC), Emmerdale (ITV), The Cut (BBC), Hollyoaks and Hollyoaks Later (Lime Pictures), Y Pris (S4C). Film credits include: The Gospel of Us (Rondo Media/Film Agency for Wales) and The Spa.

National Theatre Wales presents THE RADICALISATION OF BRADLEY MANNING by Tim Price, directed by John E McGrath. Creative team: Designer: Chloe Lamford; Lighting Designer: Natasha Chivers; Sound Designer: Mike Beer; Multiplatform Designer: Tom Beardshaw; and Emerging Director: James Roberts.

The production will run today, 6th-25th August 2013, 7.30pm at St Thomas of Aquin's High School, 2-20 Chalmers Street, Edinburgh, EH3 9ES. Box Office contact details: 0131 556 6550 or www.pleasance.co.uk/edinburgh/events/the-radicalisation-of-bradley-manning. Tickets: £8-£14. There will be a global livecast of all performances, at 7.30pm, at: nationaltheatrewales.org/bradleymanning. Age guidance: 12+.

National Theatre Wales was launched in November 2009, and creates invigorating theatre in the English language, rooted in Wales, with an international reach. The Welsh Government and the Arts Council of Wales are supporting National Theatre Wales. For more information on National Theatre Wales' shows, visit: nationaltheatrewales.org.

Disclaimer: This play is a fictional account, which has been inspired by a true story. The incidents, characters and timelines have been changed for dramatic purposes. In some cases, fictitious characters and incidents have been added to the plot, and the words are those imagined by the author. They play should not be understood as a biography or any other factual account.

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