[Bloquez l'empire!] 19 Nov.: Kafka takes on security certificates

[Mary Foster]

(please circulate)

Teesri Dunya Theatre, in collaboration with the
Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui, is proud to present

TRIAL
a reading of selections from Kafka's The Trial, interwoven with the
stories of five men trapped in Canada's security certificate process

Saturday, 19 November at 8pm / doors at 7pm
F.C. Smith Auditorium (7141 Sherbrooke St. W)
(Take bus 105 from Vendome metro)


"Someone must have slandered Joseph K., for without having done anything
wrong he was arrested one fine morning." - Kafka in the 1920's

"For seventeen months, I have shouted to the four winds, to all who would
hear, that I am innocent of all the charges." - Adil Charkaoui in 2004

Based on an adaptation by writer and social justice advocate Matthew Behrens
and playwright and theatre director Laurel Smith, "Trial" weaves the stories
of five men trapped in the security certificate process into the rich fabric
of Kafka's exploration of the nature of bureaucratic power. The result is an
emotionally powerful critique of Canada's anti-terror legislation from the
perspective of five immigrants, including
Montrealer Adil Charkaoui, who woke one day to find himself in the Kafkaien
world of the "war on terror".


"My innocence doesn't simplify the matter," said K. "A number of subtle
points are involved, in which the court loses its way. But then in the end
it pulls out some profound guilt from somewhere where there was originally
none at all."

* WITH Playwright David Fennario, poet Paul Chamberland, writer Anita Rau
Badami, actress Diana Fajrajsl, social justice activist Jaggi Singh, poet
Ehab Lotayef, actress Marthe Turgeon, and ... Adil Charkaoui.

* AND Iraqi Hip-Hop artist Yassin aka Narcy of Euphrates

* Directed by Lib Spry

Bilingual performance with translation in English and French

Suggested price $20 (pay what you can)
Tickets in advance: 514 859 9023

A benefit for the Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui

************

The Playwrights

* Laurel Smith is a Toronto-based playwright, director and Artistic Producer
of Burning Passions Theatre, a company dedicated to telling the stories of
women and youth.  Her most recent play, "The Crush of Beauty" is currently
being developed by Burning Passions Theatre for a production next year.
Another current project is an adaptation of the Kenneth Grahame story, "The
Reluctant Dragon," being developed by the renowned theatre for young
audiences company Carousel Players and inspired by the lives of one of the
Secret Trial Five, Hassan Almrei.  Laurel is a founding member of Homes not
Bombs.

* Matthew Behrens is a social justice advocate and writer from Toronto, and
founder and organizer for The Campaign to Stop Secret Trials, Homes not
Bombs and Toronto Action for Social Change.  Matthew's writings on social
justice issues, and most recently on the Secret Trial Five, have appeared
in many publications and have been disseminated around the globe.  He is in
equal measures committed to non-violent resistance as well as incorporating
the core truths of traditional country music into the progressive dialetic.

The Director

* Lib Spry has worked in theatre for over thirty years as a director,
writer, teacher, performer, translator and popular theatre worker.  She is a
specialist in popular theatre, theatre for young audiences and physical
theatre.  Her work has taken her to England, France, Canada and the United
States.  She is presently the literary manager for Teesri Duniya Theatre.

Featuring:

* Anita Rau Badami is the author of two novels -- Tamarind Mem, and The
Hero's Walk and a third novel, Indra's Net scheduled for release in 2006.
Her novels have been published to critical acclaim in more than a dozen
countries around the world and have won prizes including the Commonwealth
Writers Prize (Canada & Caribbean), the Marian Engel Award, the Premio Berto
award and the Premio citta di' Gaeti prize.

* Paul Chamberland, with a background in philosophy and literature, has
taught creative writing at various educational institutions, including the
University of Québec at Montreal (UQAM). Author of collections of poetry and
essays, he has taken part in numerous poetry readings and university
colloquia in Quebec and elsewhere. Among his published work: Terre Québec
(poetry, 1964), Au seuil d'une autre Terre (poetry, 2003) and Une politique
de la douleur (essay, 2004).

* Adil Charkaoui is a father and a student at the University of Montreal who
emigrated to Canada in 1995 with his mother, father, and sister. Part of his
"journey" to Canada from abroad has been two years in prison without charge,
under the fear-inspiring label of "terror suspect". He and his family
continue to live under the ever-present threat of his deportation to
torture; their freedom severely curtailed by conditions that force him to
wear a GPS tracking bracelet, impose a curfew, prevent him from leaving home
without his mother or father, and permit 24-hour access to his home without
permit.

* Diana Fajrajsl is a peripatetic Montreal-based theatre director, actor,
and teacher.  Most recently, she directed the world premiere of Carolyn
Guillet's 17 [Anonymous] Women for Infinitheatre here in Montreal.  She
has performed in theatres from Vancouver to Corner Brook, and taught at
Mcgill, Concordia, and Bishop's  Universities as well as the National
Theatre School of Canada.

* David Fennario Montreal playwright/performer/activist
Member of the Union des Forces Progressiste and International Socialists
Latest artistic action: A stage play"Condoville' at the Centaur about govt
attacks on Co-op housing subsidies and the fightback against gentrification
Latest Political action: A spokesperson and participate in a speakout/
demonstration against the plans to build a huge  casino complex  in the
Pointe.
"Theatre is  more than  just a mirror reflection of Life; it can be used to
change the way we live "-Brecht

* Jaggi Singh, despite having been prevented by court condition from using a
megaphone and then from amplifying his voice by any means whatsoever,
remains a strong voice for justice in Canada. Though banned at one point by
court order from "being a leader", Singh has helped motivate, provide
intellectual framework, and organise popular movements of resistance in
Montreal. Most recently, he was involved in the week-long Solidarity Across
Borders march from Montreal to Ottawa to demand rights for non-status and
the abolition of security certificates.

*Marthe Turgeon is a Quebec-based actress in film, television and theatre,
from King Lear to the world premiere of Michel Tremblay's l'Etat des lieux.
In 1989 she won the prize for best actress from the Association québécoise
des critiques de théâtre.

With music and poetry by:

* Yassin (AKA Narcy) Alsalman is a communications masters student currently
writing his thesis on HIP-HOP and social resistance: Highly Intellectualized
Persons Hovering Over Politics. Also known as Narcy, the frontman of Iraqi
Trio Euphrates, Yassin is mostly known for his lyrics and performances
around Montreal. The Euphrates Projects "Stereotypes Incorporated" and "A
Bend in the River" both served as documentation of injustice and
stereotypical representation of Arabs and Muslims in the media through the
beats of
SandHiLL and the lyrics of Narcy AKA Jamal Abdul Narcel. Currently touring
the STEREOTYPES INCORPORATED LP, Narcy can be seen on stages from Montreal
to Europe! Check out www.narcy.net, or www.iraqisthebomb.com for more
information!

* Ehab Lotayef is a poet, playwright and activist for social justice in
Montreal. He has travelled to both Palestine and Iraq in past years,
documenting his experiences to contribute to understanding and engagement in
both situations. His radio play "Crossing Gibraltar" was produced by CBC
radio and broadcast earlier this year.

*************

Popular opposition to the security certificate process, spear-headed by the
families of the detainees, has made the issue one that can no longer be
ignored by the public, the media and Canadian authorities. The movement
challenges the heart of the politics of fear which has been rapidly shifting
the political terrain in North America towards a situation often compared to
pre-war Germany or the McCarthy era. Victories in the past year include the
inclusion of security certificates in a Parliamentary review, the release of
Adil Charkaoui, condemnation of Canadian legislation by the UN Committee
Against Torture, and agreement by the Supreme Court to hear a constitutional
challenge to the security certificate process.

At the same time, all five men and their entire families are still living
under an active threat of deportation; four remain in the hell of indefinite
detention. Two, Hassan Almrei and Mohammad Mahjoub, have just finished
life-threatening hunger-strikes of 72 and 79 days, protesting their
conditions of detention. Charkaoui, a father of two small children who came
to Canada in 1995 with his mother, father and sister, lives under virtual
house arrest, which humiliates and chokes the freedom of the entire family.

Trial tells their stories against the backdrop of one of Germany's most
brilliant works of art.

-----------------

MORE INFO: 514 859 9023

Coalition for Justice for Adil Charkaoui
justiceforadil at riseup.net
tel 514 859 9023
www.adilinfo.org

Tessri Duniya Theatre
tduniya at aei.ca
tel 514 848 0238
www.teesriduniyatheatre.com

sponsored by CKUT 90.3 FM