Britain’s theatre community comes out against oppression and censorship in the “last dictatorship of Europe”. Join the protest in London
Sir Tom Stoppard and actor/director Samuel West are leading a protest of high-profile theatre practitioners outside the Belarussian Embassy at 6 Kensington Court, London, W8 5DL on Thursday 1st July at 11.30am.
They will present an open letter to President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus calling for greater democratic freedom and for an end to censorship of the internet. Other signatories include Mark Ravenhill, Howard Brenton, Alan Rickman, Laura Wade, Caryl Churchill, Henry Goodman, Henry Porter, Simon McBurney, Simon Stephens and Lyndsey Turner.
On Thursday 1st July a new presidential decree on the internet comes into force. It gives the authorities greater powers to monitor usage and will enable the government to restrict or block access to websites that offer independent and alternative sources of information. It has been described as “a step in the wrong direction” by the European Union. The decree is a clear attempt to curb freedom of speech and the right to self-expression.
Samuel West will perform an extract of Generation Jeans, a play from the multi-award winning Belarus Free Theatre. “Generation Jeans charts one man’s journey as an activist. It captures all of the courage, the humour and the foolhardy determination that you need to resist a totalitarian regime, which makes it perfect for our protest today,” says director Clare Lizzimore, co-organiser of the protest.
Playwright and co-organiser of the protest, Alexandra Wood says, “the internet is a vital tool in communication and should be available to all. Lukashenko’s law, imposing censorship on the internet, particularly affects those in Belarus who oppose his regime, who want to offer the Belarusian people an alternative, which is of course, his intention.”
Thursday’s protest is in support of the Belarus Free Theatre and is in conjunction with the Global Artistic Campaign in Solidarity with Belarus, founded by playwright Sir Tom Stoppard.
Come down and join Index on Censorship staffers at the event.
Demonstration details:
What: Protesters with placards demonstrating outside embassy and handing in an open letter to President Alexander Lukashenko; Samuel West will perform an extract of Generation Jeans, a play from the multi-award winning Belarus Free Theatre.
When: Thursday 1st July at 11.30am.
Where: Outside the Belarussian Embassy at 6 Kensington Court, London, W8 5DL
