Rachel Corrie TalkBack announced (Tues 16 Mar)

To mark the 7th anniversary of Rachel Corrie’s death, tomorrow (Tue 16 March), we are holding a TalkBack in the Circle bar after the show.



This TalkBack is an open forum which will allow audiences past, present and future to participate in discussion arising from the play. Please come if you have questions about the production, the play or the themes of My Name Is Rachel Corrie. If you have a view point to share this is very welcome provided you are also prepared to hear other positions.

To take part, please come to the Circle bar straight after the show (about 9.30pm, if you are joining us only for the discussion).

Hx

Truly moving theatre

I thought I'd post a wee blog entry from my personal perspective. I saw Mairi Phillips perform My Name Is Rachel Corrie last night and was blown away. This is Mairi's debut one-woman show at the Citizens Theatre and what a debut!



Irrelevant of your political opinion, the fact that this play is made up entirely of Rachel's own words taken from journals, emails, web postings, answer-machine messages and letters, can't fail to move you. An incredibly articulate person, Rachel's words are frequently prophetic, often witty and always heartfelt. This brilliant portrait of a young girl and its account of a painful conflict is well worth watching.

This is also Ros Philips' Directorial debut at the Citizens and in the challenging space of the Stalls Studio, with an audience on two sides, Ros more than excels.

My Name Is Rachel Corrie is on until 20 March and is selling fast...bring tissues!

Hx



See more photos on Flickr.

Getting to know Rachel

It's been an enlightening and at times upsetting journey delving into the story of Rachel Corrie, but for both Ros Philips (Director) and Mairi Phillips (Actor) it's been a challenge they've enjoyed. We know that the conflict which forms the backdrop to this production is extremely contentious and understand that tensions are likely to run high surrounding it.

I grabbed a quick chat with Ros and Mairi to find out more about their perspectives on the production.





We're delighted to be Pick of The Week in the Sunday Herald, Sunday Times and Scotsman. This show has a very limited capacity, just 45 seats per night. So if you think it's something you'd like to come to, I'd recommend booking early.

My Name Is Rachel Corrie
Previews 2-3 March
Then runs 4-20 March

Hx

It's about being a citizen of the world

In just over a week we open My Name Is Rachel Corrie, a powerful play about a young peace activist who died in Palestine in 2003. In 2006, Jackie McGlone spoke to Alan Rickman, who discovered the story and edited the play (along with Guardian editor Katharine Viner). The following comes from an article in the Scotsman:

“Rickman read Rachel's e-mails in the newspaper. "Two things stick in my mind: one was that the writing didn't feel as if it wanted to be trapped on a page for ever, it wanted to be spoken. The second is, I might not have read that paper, just as I haven't got round to reading one today - I might not have known," he says, trying to imagine the unimaginable.



Immediately, he left his home in west London and went to the Royal Court to suggest to Ian Rickson, the artistic director, that they should do something with it. "Then Rachel's parents arrived in London. They were a bit dazed, not just by what had happened to their daughter, but because this theatre was saying, 'We want to do a play based on her writings.' But they are remarkable people. There was never any bitterness or anger, only reasonableness and a desire for justice - because there has never been an investigation into Rachel's death."



The Corries gave Rickman "everything" - Rachel's school notebooks, jottings, diaries, poems. "We got 182 pages, from the time she was 12 up to the Gaza e-mails. I went to the Corries' home, in Washington, and spent time with them. 'Don't put her on a pedestal,' they said to me. But I was always concerned that this would not be a 90-minute polemic. You come, you make up your own mind," he says. "Of course, when Cindy and Craig saw the play, they were like human waterfalls."


Rehearsal photos of Mairi Phillips as "Rachel Corrie" by Tim Morozzo

When I saw the production, I veered between wanting to shake Rachel for her naivety and wanting to embrace this "scattered and deviant and loud" young woman for her intelligence, spirit, honesty and courage. "I'm so glad you felt that, because that's exactly how I hope audiences will feel," responds Rickman. "This isn't a play about Palestine or Israel, it's about being a citizen of the world."”

Rickman, who had one of his first major stage roles at the Citizens Theatre, also reminisces about the theatre “They changed all our lives”.

You can read the full article here.

My Name Is Rachel Corrie will be at the Citizens from 2-20 March 2010.

Hx