Circle Productions Presents ANNAWON'S SONG by Beverly Andrews

Annawon's Song tells the story of a Native American military veteran, wounded in both body and mind. His story is twinned with that of a young Afghani teenager being groomed to become a suicide bomber.

Native Americans have served in every conflict America has ever fought and yet their sacrifice and their experiences have been largely ignored. Annawon's Song seeks to tell at least one man's story. The statistics of Native American service speak for themselves; During World War I between 3,000 to 6,000 Native Americans enlisted while another 6,500 were drafted. Although they received wide praise for their service, it was given at a cost with five percent killed in action in comparison to one percent of American forces overall. During World War I and World War II a variety of Native languages were used to send secret military messages, it was a code which was never successfully cracked. During the Vietnam War, 42,000 Native Americans served and 90 percent were volunteers. Roughly one in every four who were eligible served compared to one in every twelve in the general population, of those 226 died in action. Since the Gulf War, the US has engaged in a series of ongoing conflicts. Native American men and women continue to serve at disproportionately high rates in comparison with the population at large. With many Native veterans returning to bleak prospects which include a substantially lower standard of living, a higher rate of unemployment with many suffering both physical and psychological problems caused by the service and yet many often are unable to access the professional care they need due to the lack of financial resources. Annawon's Song highlights the struggle of one man to reclaim his life. The piece highlights the fact that after the guns are silent and the peace treaty is signed, it is only then that we become aware of a conflict's true cost. There are never really any real winners, only casualties.

At the Crescent - VAULT Festival 2020 - Leake Street Lambeth, London SE1 7NN 15th February 2020 16:45 16rd February 2020 15:15 21:15