Description:
This play uses survivor testimony and the rich cultural tradition of New Orleans to tell the story of the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Shedding light on some of the more extraordinary and under-reported aspects of the tragedy, the play portrays the odyssey through a series of encounters with individuals displaced and abandoned within their own city where 80% of the homes were eventually underwater. The plot follows the death of Virgil, a decadent old New Orleanian who was trapped by the rising floodwater and killed. His partner Beatrice is determined to take his body to safety at City Hall. During her journey she encounters other survivors and hears their harrowing tales.
Brief description: Jonathan Holmes is the director and founder of Jericho House. In 2007 he wrote and directed the testimony play Fallujah. In 2008 with The Sixteen he revived Henze and Bond's opera Orpheus Behind the Wire at the South Bank Centre, and in 2009 his testimony play Katrina, about New Orleans and produced in association with the Young Vic, sold out for a month in a warehouse in Southwark. He has a PhD from The Shakespeare Institute and for six years he taught Drama and English at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Review Quotes: 'The stories build up a staggering picture of official lies and personal heroism'
Michael Billington, Guardian, 6.9.09