Archive for the ‘Oh Well Never Mind Bye’ Category

5 years on…

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

Five years ago this morning, Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes was shot dead by armed police as he sat on an underground train at Stockwell station.

No individual has yet been held responsible for his death, or for the cover-up that took place afterwards.

To visit the website of the Justice for Jean campaign, click here.

In the aftermath of the killing, the media reported stories of a man jumping over barriers, carrying a rucksack, wires trailing from his coat. How and why this might have happened is explored in Steven Lally’s play Oh Well Never Mind Bye, which Upstart produced at the Union Theatre in 2009 and are planning to tour in 2011. To find out more about Oh Well Never Mind Bye, click here. To find out more about the 22nd July Project, Upstart’s long-standing theatrical response to Jean’s death, click here.

ADDENDUM:

It’s just been announced that no police officer will face charges for the death of Ian Tomlinson, the newspaper vendor who died after being struck by an officer during the G20 protests in April 2009. For more information, click here.

vBlog – De Menezes family unveil permanent memorial at Stockwell

Friday, January 8th, 2010

Yesterday, the family of Jean Charles de Menezes unveiled a permanent memorial outside Stockwell underground station. Jean Charles, a Brazilian electrician, was shot dead at the station by armed police officers on 22nd July 2005.

Vivian Figueiredo, Jean’s cousin, said on behalf of the family:

Jean Charles was not the first person to be killed unjustly by the police and he won’t be the last. But we hope that through our campaign, we have raised awareness of the importance of police accoutability and how families should always be told the truth about how their loved one has died. To this day, not a single police officer has been disciplined or punished in any way for the deliberate shooting of an innocent man and the cover-up that followed. This is a public scandal and this memorial stands testament to that.

The memorial replaces the “shrine” to Jean’s memory which had been created and maintained by members of the public alongside Jean’s family since the immediate aftermath of his death in 2005.

 

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Upstart Theatre seek producer for OH WELL NEVER MIND BYE

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Charlotte (Susanna Fiore)

Following a sold-out run at London’s Union Theatre this summer, Upstart Theatre are currently seeking a producer to take our Time Out Critics’ Choice production of Oh Well Never Mind Bye by Steven Lally to the 2010 Edinburgh Fringe.

Set in the offices of a London newspaper in the aftermath of the July 2005 bombings, Oh Well Never Mind Bye is a challenging, darkly comic and moving exploration of the way in which the modern media operates. On the evening of 21 July 2005, the current affairs team are struggling to report the day’s events in time to meet their evening deadline. When police marksmen shoot a man dead at Stockwell underground station the next morning, the team are caught between the need to report the truth and a combination of political pressure, professional rivalry, and personal resentment.

One of the first plays to deal with the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell tube station on 22nd July 2005, Time Out described Oh Well Never Mind Bye as “essential viewing for anyone who cares about the future of our newspapers”.

The producer will be a central member of the creative team. He or she will be required to help co-ordinate and submit proposals for venues; raise funds to cover a projected budget of approximately £20,000; to co-ordinate marketing for the Edinburgh run; to manage the production’s commercial activities during the festival; control the budget; and liaise with the rest of the creative team to ensure the successful running of the show throughout the production’s development, rehearsals and run.

The producers’ fee will be negotiable, in the region of £2k. For further information about Upstart Theatre and Oh Well Never Mind Bye, including a producer’s pack with reviews, images and video of the Union Theatre run, please visit the Upstart website at www.upstart-theatre.co.uk. For a perusal copy of the script, contact Upstart’s Artistic Director, Tom Mansfield, on tom@upstart-theatre.co.uk, or by telephone on 07880 531 737.

To apply, please email a CV with a covering email explaining why you would like to work on this production, and detailing relevant previous experience, to Tom Mansfield at the address above.

Closing date for all applications: Friday 18th December 2009

An email to Brazil

Friday, November 20th, 2009
George (Charlotte Flintham) and Charlotte (Susanna Fiore)

Following this debate on the Guardian theatre blog, a Brazilian journalist wrote to me asking some questions about Oh Well Never Mind Bye. I thought I’d post my responses here as they might be of interest! (more…)

Oh Well Never Mind Bye – sold out smash hit at the Union Theatre

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Our production of Oh Well Never Mind Bye by Steven Lally played to packed houses at the Union Theatre from 16 June to 4 July 2009. Click here to find out more, or check out the Electronic Press/Production Kit here.