Rod talks with THE LARAMIE PROJECT

Twenty years after New York’s Tectonic Theater Project first went to Laramie following
the brutal murder of gay university student, Matthew Shepard, their work, The Laramie
Project remains incredibly potent to today’s audiences as we continue to fight for
acceptance and equality for all Australians.
This year, Theatre Travels is proud to bring back The Laramie Project and to present to
Sydney audiences’, The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later. Detailing a community’s
reaction in the aftermath of a small town hate crime, both plays focus on universally
important stories of acceptance, community, intolerance and legacy. The shows will play
a strictly limited run from November 28th – December 8th 2018 at the Seymour Centre,
Sydney.
In October of 1998, openly gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was
found tied to a fence, beaten and unconscious. After 5 days in a coma, Shepard
succumbed to his injuries and his murder was denounced and tried as a hate crime.
Members of the Tectonic Theater Project travelled to Laramie to conduct over 400
interviews with more than 100 residents of the town. The Laramie Project is a portrait of
this town: an average community redefined by a heinous crime.
The Laramie Project

The Laramie Project:10 Years Later sees the town and its occupants ten years after
Matthew’s death and calls into question the issue of legacy and our innate desire to
rewrite history. It forces us to question how we deal with the uncomfortable or
unflattering and which side of change we want to be on.
“Stories are malleable,” says founder of Tectonic Theater and playwright, Moisés
Kaufman. “History is malleable. And so we have to be doubly vigilant when we listen
to history and we listen to stories.” Ten Years Later explores that history,
interviewing and re-interviewing citizens of Laramie and allowing those histories to
speak for themselves.
Producer and Co-Director, Carly Fisher said, “this story is set in Laramie in 1998
but the truth is that we know it could just as easily happen here, in Australia, in
2018. Last year’s plebiscite was a harsh reminder that intolerance and baseless
hatred continues to exist. These plays remind us of the importance to talk about our
beliefs and to peacefully speak out for what is right – to speak up for equality.”
Co-Directed by Rosie Niven, The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project:10 Years
Later will play in repertoire at Seymour’s Reginald Theatre. Bringing to life over 75
characters between the two productions is an outstanding ensemble cast including
John Michael Burdon, Laura Djanegara, Andrew Hofman, Francisco Lopez, Linda
Nicholls-Gidley, Matthew Pritchard, Dominique Purdue, Emily Richardson &
Charlotte Tilelli.
Theatre Travels is proud to make its production debut with a unique opportunity to
see both works together for the first time in Sydney. Furthermore, audiences are
invited to attend a special day of theatre on December 1st where both shows will be
performed on the same day to mark World AIDS Day.
At each performance of The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project:10 Years
Later, audiences will be asked to dig deep for a collection to support ACON’s Red
Ribbon Appeal. Theatre Travels is proud to fundraise for ACON and to raise
awareness about the important work of this organisation.
Two decades after Matthew’s passing, there is no more appropriate a time to bring
The Laramie Project and The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later to Sydney to
continue to challenge audiences through its compelling and powerful discussion of
some of the most intimate complexities facing community’s today.