'ARISTIDES-THE OUTCAST HERO' Premieres 1/27

'Aristides - the Outcast Hero' tells the little know story of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, the Portuguese consul in Bordeaux in 1940, who disobeyed his fascist government and issued some 30,000 visas to refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. By cleverly exploiting treaties between Portugal and Spain, Aristides de Sousa Mendes forced open an escape route out of occupied France, through Spain and into neutral Portugal. This was to be used by some 1 million people during WWII.

The altruistic actions of this wrongly overlooked hero represent the greatest rescue operation conducted by a single individual during the Holocaust.

Galleon Theatre Company has assembled a hugely talented and experienced team of artists to present what is surely to be one of the most exciting theatrical productions of early 2009.

DATES: 27 th January- 22 nd February 2009
Tues-Sat @ 7.30pm - Sun @ 4pm
PRESS NIGHT- Thursday, 29 th January 2009 @ 7.30pm Tickets: £12, £10 (concs)
Box Office: 020 8858 9256
boxoffice@galleontheatre.co.uk
VENUE: GREENWICH PLAYHOUSE, Greenwich Station Forecourt, 189 Greenwich HighRoad LONDON SE10 8JA

The company presenting Aristides – the Oucast Hero exceeds thirty theatre practitioners and is led by:

The Director: Bruce Jamieson who has previously directed over thirty Galleon acclaimed theatre productions which include Hamlet; Pygmalion; Cousin Basílio; Shadows on the Sun; The Importance of Being Earnest; 3 Sisters; The White Devil; ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore; The Maias ; Inês de Castro; King Lear; Absent Friends; A Doll’s House; The Heiress of the Cane Fields; The Seagull; The Crime of The Old Village; Thankfully there is Moonlight!; Hedda Gabler; and The Merchant of Venice. As an actor, he has played leading roles in some sixty stage plays; and his television and film credits include the recently released feature film The Oxford Murders (with John Hurt & Elijah Wood); Murphy’s Law (Tiger Aspect); Monarch of the Glen (Ecosse); Ali G-Inda House (Universal);
Roughnecks (BBC); In Suspicious Circumstances (Granada); Crime Solver (BBC); and Spongebob (BBC).

The Writer & Producer: Alice de Sousa who has written many critically acclaimed stage and screen scripts; produced over seventy theatre productions; as an actress, played leading roles in some thirty plays; and won in 2005 the American Biographical Institute’s awards - ‘Great Women of the 21st Century’ and ‘Woman of the Year 2005’. (These awards exclusively recognise worldwide the impact on society of the work of 1000 prolific women). In 2007, she was short listed for the Portuguese Government’s illustrious award ‘Prémio de Talento 2006’, in recognition of her internationally celebrated writing and theatrical productions of Portuguese literature.

Galleon’s cast of thirteen actors is led by Michael Hucks in the title role (Aristides de Sousa Mendes) has appeared in numerous West End productions, national tours and on television in popular programmes such as Eastenders, London’s Burning, ‘Allo ‘Allo, Only Fools & Horses; and by veteran actor Barry Davis (playing Rabbi Chaim Kruger) who has extensively worked in theatre, television and Hollywood films such as Schindler’s List, The Pianist, The Man Who Cried, The Merchant of Venice, Kingdom of Heaven. Other cast include: Owen G. Bevan (José); Sue Broberg – (Angelina); Janet Coulson (Fernanda); Suzanne Goldberg (The Woman); Chris Manning-Perry (Davenport/Oulmont); Daniel Moore (Synek & Degenfeld); Robert Paul (Seabra); Hannah-Jane Pawsey (Joana); Anna Ruben (Andrée Cibial); Richard Unwin (Barman/Villand/Laporte); and making his professional debut Paul Lawrence-Thomas (Pedro Nuno).

The dazzling and very experienced design team, who collectively have designed hundreds of theatre productions includes J.William Davis (Scenery/properties); Robert Gooch (Lighting/Sound); and Fiona Parker (Costumes).

For further information please consult their website www.galleontheatre.co.uk.

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