For one night only, an all-star cast will bring Matthew Shepard’s story to life in a staged reading of The Laramie Project – one of the world’s most striking examples of verbatim theatre at Sydney’s City Recital Hall on Tuesday 14 May 2024.
It was 25 years ago when Moisés Kaufman and members of New York’s Tectonic Theater Project began to create the now legendary play. The Laramie Project was crafted from interviews with the townspeople of Laramie, Wyoming in the aftermath of the shocking murder of 21-year-old gay man Matthew Shepard.
The events would go on to propel momentous social change, inspiring The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act 2009. The act expanded the US federal hate crime law to include crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
The staged reading will be directed by Dean Bryant and includes an all-Australian cast led by Nicholas Brown, Casey Donovan, Benjamin Law, Zindzi Okenyo, Tony Sheldon and Lyndon Watts.
To mark the anniversary, Matthew’s father Dennis Shepard will join the cast, delivering the powerful speech he made in the Wyoming courtroom.
The performance will be followed by an on-stage Q&A with Dennis Shepard and the project’s Creative Team, around the role of the arts within social justice movements.
The Laramie Project is presented by American Australian Association, in partnership with the US State Department, Tectonic Theater Project and the Matthew Shepard Foundation. The production will take place in the week that includes the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.
The Laramie Project
City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney
Performance: Tuesday 14 May 2024
Information and Bookings: www.cityrecitalhall.com
Image: Nicholas Brown, Casey Donovan, Benjamin Law, Zindzi Okenyo, Tony Sheldon and Lyndon Watts to feature in The Laramie Project (supplied)