The internationally acclaimed 'Truth To Power Café' will hit Brisbane Powerhouse as part of its MELT Festival Of Queer Arts And Culture.
'Truth To Power Café' is a theatrical reflection on loss, hope and resistance, told through memoir, image, poetry, music and live testimony. It opens its arms to participants of all ages, beliefs and backgrounds who believe they have a story to tell.
The origins of speaking truth to power lie in the anti-war movement – a non-violent means of conflict resolution.
Here, 'Truth To Power Café' creator and performer Jeremy Goldstein pens an open letter ahead of the event at MELT.
“Hey Brisbane,
I hope you’re feeling the love right now because I’m here to ask you a serious question – who has power over you and what do you want to say to them?
I’m not joking.
This is for real.
And what’s more, I’m inviting you to share your answer as part of our revolutionary theatre show ‘Truth To Power Café’ which we’re staging for one night only as part of our world tour to open MELT Festival Of Queer Arts And Culture at Brisbane Powerhouse Theatre.
I know that sounds a bit scary. It is for me too. But as the saying goes, ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’. . . And if you do, your story will sit inside a unique theatrical event combining poetry, memoir, music, video and image.
I’m also cast as a participant. I talk of the power my late father Mick Goldstein had over me when he was alive. My father was a member of the Hackney Gang – a group of six friends that included the Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, and the actor and poet Henry Woolf, with whom I’ve co-created the show directed by Jen Heyes. For 60 years the Hackney Gang held firm in their belief of an independent media and speaking truth to power. Ultimately, the show has become a love letter to their memory.
Maybe you’re trans and you’ve got something to say to a society who puts you down, or maybe you want to ditch the patriarchy once and for all and plant the seeds of progressive change? Or maybe you’re like me, and you’ve got something important you want to say to your dad and in doing so end up claiming agency over yourself?
As with each performance, our show for MELT will be a reflection of the passions, interests and concerns of local communities expressing themselves in response to the question, and when we combine this with the theatricality of my own story, the show becomes a powerful and cathartic journey into truth telling.
Is what you want to say an act of love or an act of war?
Who has power over you and what do you want to say to them?
Love,
Jeremy”
I hope you’re feeling the love right now because I’m here to ask you a serious question – who has power over you and what do you want to say to them?
I’m not joking.
This is for real.
And what’s more, I’m inviting you to share your answer as part of our revolutionary theatre show ‘Truth To Power Café’ which we’re staging for one night only as part of our world tour to open MELT Festival Of Queer Arts And Culture at Brisbane Powerhouse Theatre.
I know that sounds a bit scary. It is for me too. But as the saying goes, ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’. . . And if you do, your story will sit inside a unique theatrical event combining poetry, memoir, music, video and image.
I’m also cast as a participant. I talk of the power my late father Mick Goldstein had over me when he was alive. My father was a member of the Hackney Gang – a group of six friends that included the Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, and the actor and poet Henry Woolf, with whom I’ve co-created the show directed by Jen Heyes. For 60 years the Hackney Gang held firm in their belief of an independent media and speaking truth to power. Ultimately, the show has become a love letter to their memory.
Maybe you’re trans and you’ve got something to say to a society who puts you down, or maybe you want to ditch the patriarchy once and for all and plant the seeds of progressive change? Or maybe you’re like me, and you’ve got something important you want to say to your dad and in doing so end up claiming agency over yourself?
As with each performance, our show for MELT will be a reflection of the passions, interests and concerns of local communities expressing themselves in response to the question, and when we combine this with the theatricality of my own story, the show becomes a powerful and cathartic journey into truth telling.
Is what you want to say an act of love or an act of war?
Who has power over you and what do you want to say to them?
Love,
Jeremy”
'Truth To Power Café' plays Brisbane Powerhouse as part of MELT Festival on 20 May. You can sign up to be part of the show via the 'Truth To Power Café' website.
