The Paul Robeson Art Is a Weapon Festival 2013

Tristan Bates Theatre, Covent Garden, 30th Sept to 26th Oct 2013

Tony Benn, Jackie Kay, Ava Vidal, the Guardian's Gary Younge and other performers, historians and commentators from Canada, South Africa, Nigeria and around the UK gather for the inaugural four week festival, celebrating the life of Paul Robeson: actor, singer and civil rights campaigner, and one of the most censored and prominent victims of McCarthyism.

At the centre of the festival is Tayo Aluko’s multi-award winning play Call Mr. Robeson. The journey through his life and career highlights how his radical activism caused his downfall, and features his most famous songs and speeches. The play has been performed in the UK, Canada, Jamaica, Nigeria and in the USA, including New York’s Carnegie Hall in 2012. It’s won multiple awards including Best Actor, Best Original Work and the Impresario Award (London Fringe, Canada 2012), Playwright & Performer Awards and Ogeyinka Merit Awards for Excellence (London 2010), and the Angel Award for Artistic Excellence: Best Male Performer (Brighton Festival Fringe 2008).

Paul Robeson was an African-American singer and actor who became famous for his rendition of ‘Ol’ Man River’ in the original London cast and film of Show Boat, going on to a prestigious stage and film career before risking and losing it all as a civil rights campaigner. He spoke out from the concert platform on behalf of the anti-fascist Republicans during the Spanish Civil War and against imperialism, Communism, and the US government, before finally lending his endorsement to the Soviet Union, the wrecking point of his career. From being America’s “no.1 entertainer”, he fell under scrutiny from the FBI and became blacklisted under McCarthyism, with concerts and TV appearances cancelled and his passport revoked. He remained unapologetic for his political stances up to his death in 1976.
Tayo Aluko says “It is a real privilege to be surrounded by such a high-calibre rosta of artists, thinkers and activists agreeing to be part of the Art Is Festival. It shows how much esteem Paul Robeson is held in, how much his influence is still felt, and how many people agree with me that we could all benefit from reexamining his true story and ideas today."

Booking Information

What: The Paul Robeson Art Is A Weapon Festival 2013
Where: Tristan Bates Theatre, 1A Tower Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9NP
When: 30th Sept to 26th Oct
Box Office: 020 7240 6283 www.tristanbatestheatre.co.uk

Ticket Prices (concessions in brackets):
Call Mr. Robeson: £12 (£10) School Parties £7 (for 11.30am performances, Weds 16 and 23 Oct)
Other performances £10 (£8)
The Tony Benn Interview £10 (£8)
Speaker events, £5 (£4)

Discount offers (by telephone only):
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Press Contact: Sharon at Mobius 020 7269 9929 or [log in to unmask]