Bradley Manning in the Theater

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Bradley Manning in the Theater by Claire Lebowitz

Courage is contagious, and the stories that we tell show what we value. Acting from conscience at any cost is a story as old as humanity and often adapted for the stage. The ancient Greek myth of Prometheus’ heroic act of rebellion against Zeus; bringing fire to humanity at the cost of his own freedom, was performed in 415 BC. Now that our own Prometheus, young, slight, gay soldier PFC Bradley Manning has the full force of the American Empire coming down on him in a tiny courtroom in Ft Meade, Maryland for “want[ing] people to know the truth,” we are learning all over again that knowledge comes at a very high price for which he may pay with life in prison. Bradley’s story has inspired two modern day playwrights to examine if the costs of rebellion and truth telling are so very different in our modern age.
“The Radicalisation of Bradley Manning” written by Tim Price and produced by the National Theatre of Wales is the first play to win the James Tait Black prize for drama. It is currently being performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. The play charts the story of Bradley’s life from his teenage years in Wales until he was incarcerated in the US, and was originally performed at Tasker Milward School in Haverfordwest Wales, where Bradley attended high school when he lived with his mother for 3 years. Tim Price felt a connection to Bradley through their shared Welsh heritage, he says: “it wasn’t until I learned of Bradley’s teenage years in Wales that my curiosity turned into obsession. This young soldier- who has attempted to call the president of the US as a defense witness- knows bus timetables around Haverfordwest. He knows the trials of schoolboy rugby, and speaks rudimentary Welsh. Once I realized this, Bradley became more than a news story.” In this production five different actors play Bradley, utilizing the “I am Bradley Manning” campaign meme.
“The Radicalization of Bradley Manning” will be live streamed for audiences worldwide to view From August 6th till August 25th.
To watch the live stream of the play, please visit: http://new.livestream.com/nationaltheatrewales

In the play, Bradley Manning’s life is charted from his teenage years in Wales to the present day. Photograph: National Theatre Wales/PA

“Bradass87” is a play I wrote about Bradley Manning that has been performed as staged readings, excerpts and short street theater scenes all over New York City. The title was Bradley’s screen name in his Instant Messenger chats and the play is composed entirely from primary source material, chat logs, interviews and trial transcripts (I am especially indebted to Alexa O’Brien for her amazing transcripts). Bradley has inspired me as he has countless others, but my personal connection to his story came from my trips to Afghanistan to teach high school students. Bradley’s feelings of responsibility towards civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan who are “struggling to live in the pressure cooker environment of what we call asymmetric warfare” resonated with me and his earnestness and principled nature continues to touch my heart. To me he injects humanity into a system that actively attempts to strip it away. As he has said often in chats, he is a Humanist and “values human life above all.”

Bradass87 examines the motivations of PFC Bradley Manning for exposing the truth about the American government’s conduct overseas. Bradass87 has been performed in New York City in theaters and on the streets.

“Bradass87” will be performed as a staged reading with Chris Dinolfo playing Bradley Manning, August 16th and 17th at 7:30pm in Washington DC at the Universalist National Memorial Church (1810 16th St NW Washington DC). The performance comes at the end of the defense witnesses’ testimony in the sentencing portion of Bradley’s trial and I hope the play and the panel afterwards will be an opportunity to create a public forum while the trial is ongoing to consider many of the larger issues this case brings up that threaten our democracy.

The US government has gone to great lengths to control what is written about Bradley in the media by conducting the trial in de facto secrecy, to keep Bradley away from public view so that he is not relatable and not characterized as a prisoner of conscience. These two plays attempt to counter that narrative. Once Bradley Manning becomes a symbol (as he is to Edward Snowden), they’ve lost. When the dust settles from the trial and we are no longer obsessed with the “hero or traitor” narrative, we will thank Bradley Manning for lifting the fog of war and confirm what another famous humanist, playwright William Shakespeare said: “truth is truth, until the end of reckoning.”

www.Bradass87.wordpress.com
http://nationaltheatrewales.org/bradleymanning