The Long Road by Shelagh Stephenson - Soho Theatre

The play ‘The Long Road’ is the story of the aftermath of a futile murder. The play evolved out a period of research with prisoners, and is a collaboration between the Synergy Theatre Project, The Forgiveness Project and award-winning playwright Shelagh Stephenson.

Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street, London W1
0870 429 6883
http://www.sohotheatre.com

19 May – 5 June Mondays to Thursdays (except Monday 26 May)
Additional show: Friday 30 May – 8pm
28 May – 3pm only
21 May – Post-show discussion with Shelagh Stephenson
29 May + 2 June – Post-show discussions with the director and cast

Cast: Denise Black (CoronationStreet), Micheal Elwyn (Robin Hood), Alison Newman (Footballers Wives), Michelle Tate (Chatroom/Citizenship) and Steven Webb (The History Boys)

There will also be a programme of weekly pre-performance talks

The criminal justice system in crisis:

20 May, 6.30pm
Are super jails the answer to the prison crisis, or what are the alternatives?
Including: Rt Hon David Hanson MP (Minister of State for the Ministry of Justice), Erwin James (Guardian columnist and former prisoner), Juliet Lyon (Director of the Prison Reform Trust)

27 May, 6.30pm
Is knife crime the product of a deviant subculture, or a logical reaction to life on the street? Including: Susannah Hancock (London Manger of the Youth Justice Board), and Chris McDonald (Acting Detective Chief Superintendent and Head of Operation Blunt)

3 June, 6.30pm
Does forgiveness have any part to play in the criminal justice system?
Including: Tim Newell (restorative worker and former prison governor), Marian Partington whose sister was murdered by Fred West, John Podmore (Senior Operational Advisor for Offender Health and former prison governor), Peter Woolf (former career criminal and author of ‘The Damage Done’), alongside Will Riley, one of his victims and chairman of Why Me.

Tickets:
19 – 21 May: £10
27 – 30 May: £12 (£10)
2 – 5 June: £15 (£12)
Talks: £5 (£3) Buy tickets for a performance and pay £3 for a talk

http://www.synergytheatrecompany

The Longford Prize

The Longford Prize Winners

On Nov 23rd 2007 The Forgiveness Project was awarded a special commendation by the Longford judges in recognition of its ‘remarkable work’ done in prisons. This year’s Longford lecture was given by Irish President, Mary McAleese.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu endorses The Forgiveness Project

SHORT FILM

An introduction to The Forgiveness Project, and to the individuals whose personal journeys offer hope and inspiration

Forgiveness Project patron, Dame Anita Roddick, dies 10.09.07

It is almost certainly true to say that without Anita Roddick The Forgiveness Project would not exist. In 2003, I began collecting stories of forgiveness as a personal response to the growing thirst for revenge in the build up to the invasion of Iraq. When I showed Anita the raw material she was so moved by the stories that she offered to fund the printing, production and launch of what then became The F Word – an exhibition she described as ‘truly an education of the human spirit’. At the Oxo Gallery launch in London in 2004, she was thrilled to meet a fellow TFP patron, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. She was a keen and loyal supporter of this project and touched many people’s hearts. She will be greatly missed.
MC

The Oprah Show

On the 30th May Gill Hicks whose story features in The F Word appeared on The Oprah Show in the US (45 million viewers). Oprah talked about Gill being part of a world-wide movement called The Forgiveness Project and she talked about “The F Word, the New F Word”. She then asked people to send in stories. Already over 100 people have sent in their stories to The Forgiveness Project..
http://www2.oprah.com/spiritself/fia/ss_fia_main.jhtml

Next Steps in the US

Following a pilot launch in April last year to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Oklahoma bombing, we still plan to launch a tour of the but in the mean time the exhibition is being hired out by groups and institutions (see the exhibition page)

We have just signed a contract with a team of award-winning US film makers which is extremely exciting. Stuart Sender and Julie Bergman are a husband and wife team who have their own media consulting and production company, Balcony Films. Balcony Films specialises in outside-the-box media messaging, merging storytelling with policy and state-of-the-art distribution strategies for progressive issues, campaigns and documentary films.
For any inquires regarding our work in America please contact info@theforgivenessproject.com

Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon, produced a spectacular version of the exhibition. The students illuminated positive transparencies they’d made of the images, with particular emphasis placed on the text. They used wood from packing crates as frames and hung white gauze curtains between each image so viewers could have moments of privacy and meditation as they moved through the exhibit.

Gill Hicks

In April Gill Hicks’ book is published by Rodale. ONE UNKNOWN is a powerful account of survival and one woman’s inspirational journey to a new life. Hardback £16.99.
orders@macmillan.co.uk

» Get Involved, Send your story

The Forgiveness Project Patrons: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Anita Roddick, Emma Thompson, Jilly Forster, Rt Hon the Lord Woolf, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales Simon Fanshawe, The Lord Stone of Blackheath, Tim Newell