Liberty
LIBERTY By Glyn Maxwell
In autumn 2005 Glyn Maxwell was commissioned to create the first draft of Liberty (then titled The Man Of Terror), a new work inspired by the Anatole France novel, Les Dieux Ont Soif
Set amid the extremes of The Terror, Anatole France's Les Dieux Ont Soif has a Dickensian sweep and Shakespearean humanity; a story of love and power, sex and faith, hope, deceit, beautiful ideals viciously exploited, innocence destroyed, miraculous survival. It is at once serious and sorrowful, comic and sweet.
One of the most important acts of understanding in these disturbing times is for us to comprehend what makes honest, idealistic men commit acts of barbarity, whether it's the suicidal zealots of Islam or the Pentagon lawyers who licence torture.
Many believe the French Revolution was the gateway to the world we now know, in which case the Jacobins of The Terror can be seen as the first modern terrorists, consciously using force and cruelty in the service of high principles, indeed some of these principles - freedom, equality, democracy – we live by today.
“I feel an urgency and significance about this project that I've seldom experienced before. This feels like a play for our times, set at the very beginning of our times, but telling a story as contemporary as breaking news…”
Glyn Maxwell
DEVELOPMENT:
With Arts Council support, the work was developed through a series of workshops and readings at Soho Theatre, and later Hampstead Theatre. With the script in its third draft and a fine team of actors, the response was extremely encouraging, and culminated in a co-production in the summer of 2008 with Shakespeare's Globe followed by a UK tour.
“Liberty is a beautiful play, which manages to combine the epic with small human details in a way that is ideal for the Globe space. Its large story is told through engagement with characters in a way that will be completely involving for the Globe audience. It is also written in a rich and resonant language which fulfils the Globe's ambition to restore poetic drama to the English stage.”
Dominic Dromgoole
SUPPORT:
Lifeblood Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges the support of Arts Council England, Stage One Bursary, Meridian Interact, Arts Patron Fund, and The Mackintosh Foundation for the development and production of Liberty.
