Exclusive special to be filmed on stage tonight
ALEX DIMITRIADES, JOHN JARRATT, CLAUDIA KARVAN, SOPHIE LOWE, JACK THOMPSON, DAVID WENHAM AND DAN WYLLIE LEAD THE STELLAR CAST
Tonight, FOXTEL and The History Channel will bring together some of Australia’s finest actors and musicians for one night only, to take part in a ground-breaking documentary special, THE PEOPLE SPEAK.
To be filmed at Sydney’s historic Carriageworks site in Redfern in front of a live audience, THE PEOPLE SPEAK will feature Australia’s leading artists from stage and screen delivering the letters, songs and speeches of rebels, visionaries and protesters from Australia’s past.
Narrated by author Thomas Keneally, these dramatic moments from our history will be brought to life on stage by a remarkable group including Jimi Bani, Matilda Brown, Rob Carlton, Lillian Crombie, Damian de Montemas, Alex Dimitriades, Chris Haywood, John Jarratt, Claudia Karvan, Sophie Lowe, Madeleine Madden, Indira Naidoo, Jack Thompson, David Wenham and Dan Wyllie and interspersed with haunting musical performances by Tex Perkins, Julia Stone and Christine Anu.
To premiere exclusively on The History Channel in November 2012, THE PEOPLE SPEAK is a unique and compelling format that will revisit the good fights over gender equality, fair pay and working conditions, gay rights, war and peace, immigration and the rights of our indigenous populations.
It will give a voice to those who spoke up for social change throughout Australian history – and will highlight the continuing importance of this in today’s society.
THE PEOPLE SPEAK format was born in 2009 when actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, along with film producer Chris Moore collaborated with Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, to construct a performed history of the United States as told from the perspective of its underdogs.
Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman, Marisa Tomei, Bruce Springsteen, Eddie Vedder, Josh Brolin and a host of others participated in the special – and two years later, Colin Firth, Sir Ben Kingsley, Joss Stone, Keira Knightley and Sir Ian McKellan were amongst the cast that staged THE PEOPLE SPEAK in the United Kingdom.
THE PEOPLE SPEAK is produced by The History Channel and WTFN Entertainment and is exclusive to FOXTEL.
