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BARE WITNESS
by Mari Lourey
Drawing on actual experiences of photographers and foreign correspondents, Bare Witness is a multi-media performance exploding the way we view our humanity through the fragmenting lens of the media. The production takes us through the Balkans, East Timor and Iraq, scrutinising the complex terrain of contemporary photo-journalism against the backdrop of fifteen years of ongoing international conflict.
Through the eyes of a young Australian woman we follow a pack of complicated, flawed characters who share the unbreakable bond of war journalists. Dannie Hills, talented but frustrated as a cadet news photographer, discovers her destiny is to take photos in dangerous places. We meet her as her mind is disintegrating in the aftermath of a calamitous event in Iraq and its tragic outcome.
The play is bookended by Dannie addressing the audience in present time. A barrage of memories and fragments collide in her mind as she struggles to make sense of the most recent tragedy. A series of photographs described, not literally seen, provides a window into the story, as fragments, dreams, and nightmares come rushing in to haunt her.
| Style | physical, highly theatrical drama |
| Length | 90 minutes |
| Cast | 2 female, 3 male |
| written for a cast of 5 playing multiple roles | |
| Cast age | 16 to 18, 18+ |
| Audience age | young adult, adult |
| Publisher | Australian Script Centre |
This title appears in:
RE Ross Trust Script Development Award (2005 winner)
Patrick White Playwrights Award (2007 nominee)


