A New York City theater has abruptly cancelled a play about an abortionist imprisoned for life for killing babies. Though the theater cited safety concerns and content inappropriate for children, the writer behind the controversial show claims they are afraid of the story he is trying to tell.
Playwright Phelim McAleer pointed out to The Daily Wire on Tuesday that Theatre Row has hosted a slew of other plays labeled inappropriate for children (including Hitler&#8217;s Tasters, My Mother&#8217;s Severed Head, and the production Satan and God) — and McAleer believes Theatre Row cancelled the show because it exposes the gruesome crimes of an abortionist.
&#8220;Theatre Row claims to support the arts and a diverse array of views, but it&#8217;s clear from their letter that they will not hesitate to silence artists who don&#8217;t fit their narrative,&#8221; McAleer told The Daily Wire. &#8220;Their letter is a complete fraud and they should be ashamed of themselves. This is so-called elites trying to cover up the truth. They are afraid of facts and real art. They are sham artists.&#8221;
&#8220;<a href="https://unreportedstorysociety.createsend1.com/t/t-i-qtydtz-l-j/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://unreportedstorysociety.createsend1.com/t/t-i-qtydtz-l-j/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1651084238299000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3mpRldh0LqJF2MOIayLsld">Oh Gosnell: The Truth About Abortion</a>&#8221; is a production billed as &#8220;the most controversial Off Broadway play this year,&#8221; reportedly <a href="https://www.ohgosnell.com/">taken verbatim</a> from the trial transcript of Kermit Gosnell, who is <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/12/16/justice/pennsylvania-abortion-doctor-pills/index.html">serving multiple life sentences</a> in Pennsylvania&#8217;s Huntington Correctional Institute.
Gosnell was convicted in 2013 on three counts of first-degree murder for killing babies by cutting their spinal cords with scissors at his Philadelphia abortion clinic.
McAleer and his wife, Anne McElhinney, who investigated Gosnell&#8217;s crimes for <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Gosnell-Untold-Americas-Prolific-Serial/dp/1621574555">their best-selling book</a>, have talked to Gosnell over the phone many times and even visited the convicted murderer in prison &#8220;where he veered from charming old uncle to really, really creepy,&#8221; McAleer told The Daily Wire.
The show is set to launch on the same night as J.J. Abrams&#8217; and Ilana Glazer’s supposed abortion comedy, “Oh God: A Show About Abortion.&#8221; It will now be performed at The Chain Theatre instead, McAleer said.
&#8220;They laugh about it &#8211; we tell the truth about it,&#8221; the Unreported Story Society&#8217;s website says. &#8220;Gosnell was a serial killer abortion doctor who was convicted of killing babies and women patients.&#8221;
Theatre Row, an &#8220;Off-Broadway multi-theater complex in the heart of the Theater District,&#8221; did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire. The complex is operated by Building for the Arts NY, Inc.
In an <a href="https://unreportedstorysociety.com/wp-content/uploads/LTR-Unreported.pdf">April 21 letter to the Unreported Story Society</a>, Building for the Arts NY, Inc.&#8217;s legal representation claimed that McAleer&#8217;s organization withheld &#8220;material information&#8221; from the theatre company in a manner &#8220;constituting fraud.&#8221;
&#8220;Our nonprofit mission is public record,&#8221; the letter said. &#8220;The Play’s content violates material terms of the executed agreement including, without limitation, the subject matter inappropriate for children and the resultant disrepute suffered by the Licensor.&#8221;
&#8220;The Theatre will not be able to exercise reason in granting many, if not all, of the approvals required,&#8221; the letter continued. &#8220;This should have been obvious to the Licensee. Upon information and belief, there are numerous deficiencies, breaches and violations regarding good standing, insurance, and attendant rules, but this letter is not meant to set forth a comprehensive list of reasons. We are concerned for the safety of our staff and our neighbors.&#8221;
The letter warns the Unreported Story Society that the theatre has &#8220;informed security and local law enforcement that there is no property left in the building and no reason for your return to the premises.&#8221;
&#8220;Kindly do not contact any individuals at Theatre Row as you have been made aware that they have engaged litigation counsel,&#8221; the letter said. &#8220;Direct all questions or other communications to this office. Your deposit is being returned today.&#8221;
McAleer told The Daily Wire that the theater company is &#8220;afraid&#8221; and that their claims have &#8220;no basis in reality,&#8221; calling the letter &#8220;the best piece of fiction they have ever produced.&#8221;
He also said he finds it ironic that the company would consider a play about abortion as &#8220;inappropriate for children” when &#8220;plays like the one produced by Hollywood Producer J.J. Abrams are deadly to children every day in America.&#8221;
&#8220;Our play uses fact, evidence, and testimony, and humanizes babies,&#8221; he added, noting that &#8220;J.J. Abrams, Ilana Glazer and their pro-abortion cronies like to joke about destroying babies.&#8221;
&#8220;These are two different views of the world,&#8221; he emphasized, asking, &#8220;shouldn’t the public hear both?&#8221;

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NYC Theater Abruptly Cancels Play About Convicted Baby-Killer Kermit Gosnell Citing Safety Concerns

Abortion

Broadway

Gosnell

New York

New York City

Phelim McAleer

While the ongoing trial of disgraced mega-producer Harvey Weinstein is not being televised, those interested in what is going on inside the courtroom can experience the trial &#8220;unfiltered&#8221; through a creative new podcast.  A pair of producers who&#8217;ve helped popularize verbatim theater based on official court transcripts and documents from national stories — including the Michael Brown case and the famous affair between two anti-Trump FBI lovers — are offering listeners a glimpse into what is taking place behind closed courtroom doors each day.
The podcast, titled &#8220;<a href="https://anchor.fm/harveyweinstein">The Harvey Weinstein Trial: Unfiltered</a>,&#8221; launched last Wednesday, the first day of the most high-profile #MeToo trial to date, involving the man at the center of the accusations that sparked the movement. The goal of the project, co-producer Phelim McAleer told The Daily Wire in a statement, is to use the verbatim approach &#8220;to go around the mainstream media filter and reveal the truth&#8221; about the trial, which is expected to last about five weeks. &#8220;The verbatim podcast means the truth is available for all,&#8221; said the producer.
The daily podcasts feature &#8220;veteran voice actors recreating the drama, allegations, emotions, and anger&#8221; using court transcripts to &#8220;bring the courtroom to life for an international audience,&#8221; a press release for the podcast explains. The show also offers context and commentary from McAleer and co-producer Ann McElhinney.
&#8220;We are taking podcasts and news reporting to the next level by creating the verbatim podcast genre series,&#8221; McAleer said in a statement included in the release. &#8220;Until now, podcasts have either been run-of-the-mill talk shows on demand or dated documentaries. With The Weinstein Trial: Unfiltered we are bringing the truth to people as it happens in the most dramatic and informative way, on demand and available every day anywhere in the world. It’s why the podcast medium was invented.&#8221;
&#8220;Most of the media will carry a 500 word article or a seven or three minute cable animated discussion of the day&#8217;s evidence, but we are allowing listeners to experience the actual words of victims, investigators, and the accused,&#8221; said McElhinney. &#8220;It will bring them right into the truth of the Weinstein case and the #MeToo movement. And it&#8217;s going to be released daily, free and on demand.&#8221;
As reported by <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/phelim-mcaleer-turn-weinstein-trial-transcripts-podcast-1271907">The Hollywood Reporter</a>, McAleer, who is attending the trial each day, provides transcripts to the director of the project, who then works with the cast on the performance. The verbatim reenactment is recorded and released the same day. &#8220;While the words will be verbatim, they’ll boil it down to about the best 45 minutes of each day’s proceedings and make the finished product available at WeinsteinPodcast.com, Spotify and other outlets,&#8221; THR explains. With four episodes thus far released, the show, which includes the verbatim performances and the commentary by the pair of producers, is averaging between 45 to 60 minutes.
Among some of the high-profile figures who could be called to to testify are &#8220;Rosie Perez, Selma Hayek, Charlize Theron, attorney Gloria Allred, representatives from The Weinstein Co. and Miramax along with Harvey Weinstein’s brother, Bob,&#8221; THR notes. &#8220;Emails sent and received by Harvey Weinstein through the years are also expected to be read in court.&#8221;
The producers have provided the following profiles of some of the podcast&#8217;s performers and their roles:
<blockquote>MICHAEL BEATTIE (James Burke, Judge) Beattie is an Award winning Canadian-American Actor and Voice Actor. His recent work includes multiple supporting roles in The Lorax, Minions, The Secret Life of Pets, Despicable Me 3, The Grinch, and The Secret Life of Pets 2.
CAITLIN CARLETON (Donna Rotunno, Defense Attorney) Carleton is an actor and director. She was recently nominated by The Broadway World Regional Awards for Best Leading Actress for her role as Rosannah DeLuce in Brilliant Traces. “Corporately Challenged” the comedic pilot she starred in &amp; co-produced with Shannon Phipps just started its festival run, and won Best Series Pilot at the Austin Indie Fest. She has two short films and a web series in post-production.
MICHELLE GARDNER (Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, Prosecutor) Gardner is an award-winning actor, writer and producer working in film and television. Michelle began her career in the theatre in such roles as Anita in West Side Story and Miss Hannigan in Annie. Her screen credits include: “Transparent,” “The Fosters,” “Bones,” “Criminal Minds,” “The Closer,” Horrible Bosses 2, “The Mentalist,” “Six Feet Under,” “House,” “S.W.A.T.,” “I Think You Should Leave” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” where she enjoys playing Mom to young Levi “Glasses” Schmitt.
DAVID STANBRA (Damon Cheronis, Defense Attorney) Stanbra was raised in San Diego,CA and his credits include the upcoming “Lovecraft Country” (HBO), “True Detective Season 3” (HBO), “The Leftovers” (HBO), “Gentefied,” “Criminal Minds,” “Without a Trace,” “Lincoln Heights,” “General Hospital,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Chocolate News,” “Notorious,” and “Infamous: Second Son.” David resides in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and two children.</blockquote>

Harvey Weinstein Trial

‘Harvey Weinstein Trial Unfiltered’: Podcast Presents Daily Verbatim Reenactments From Explosive Trial

Harvey Weinstein

Hollywood

MeToo

All too predictably, when news arose that two Hollywood actors would play anti-Trump FBI lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page in a one-night dramatic stage reading, they <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7062919/Dean-Cain-play-Peter-Strzok-one-night-stage-reading-anti-Trump-texts-FBI-Lovebirds.html">received</a> at least one death threat.
&#8220;Buffy the Vampire Slayer&#8221; star Kristy Swanson will star on June 13 at The Studio Theater in Washington, D.C. with Dean Cain in &#8220;FBI Lovebirds: UnderCovers,&#8221; which will feature them simply reading the anti-Trump text messages the two FBI employees sent to each other. She revealed that someone on Twitter posted a threat writing, &#8220;Have the Capitol steps open, lock the doors, set the theater on fire,&#8221; a message Swanson noted not only threatened the two actors, but also the production team and the audience. Swanson told <a href="v">BizPacReview</a>, &#8220;I think it&#8217;s disgusting that someone would make a threat like this.&#8221;
A <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/fbi-lovebirds-undercovers--2#/">crowdfunding page</a> has been created for the show to raise the $95,000 costs for the production. The page states, &#8220;&#8217;We are going to show the mainstream media and Hollywood that they can no longer push the Russia collusion hoax and force them to acknowledge how the Deep State, DC Swamp tried to destroy the Trump candidacy and presidency.&#8221;
The conservative producers of the show, Irish filmmaker Phelim McAleer and his wife Ann McElhinney, have produced films including &#8220;Gosnell,&#8221; which revolved around the notorious abortionist Kermit Gosnell, starred Cain and was screened at the White House without Trump in attendance, and &#8220;Fracknation,&#8221; which confronted anti-fracking advocates with facts about the industry. McAleer <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2012/02/new-film-in-defense-of-fracking-072723">said</a> of &#8220;Fracknation&#8220; that he wanted to expose the one-sided view of the media, &#8220;outsiders&#8221; and &#8220;urban elites,&#8221; adding that the environmental lobby used scare tactics to condemn fracking
<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/22/trump-strzok-page-texts-1340127?nname=playbook&amp;nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nrid=00000162-4532-d513-a767-cfbbf88b0000&amp;nlid=630318">Politico reported</a> that a source for the new show said the production is lobbying for President Trump to attend the performance, saying, &#8220;We&#8217;re lobbying the White House hard. We are being told the president loves the idea of exposing this.&#8221;
McAleer <a href="https://www.bizpacreview.com/2019/05/23/kristy-swanson-responds-to-death-threat-over-play-about-real-life-anti-trump-fbi-agents-strzok-and-page-757744">released a statement</a> saying, &#8220;It is a 100 percent verbatim script constructed out of the secret texts from Peter Strzok and Lisa Page (aka the FBI Lovebirds) and I have included their closed-door testimony to the congressional committee that was investigating them. It&#8217;s an amazing script of Page and Strzok texting like juvenile lovers in between vile anti-Trump texts and them planning to investigate him as an &#8216;insurance policy&#8217; in case he gets elected. It&#8217;s clear when you see and hear the texts and their lame defenses when questioned about them that they were determined to stop the Trump presidency by any means necessary.&#8221;
Some of the messages exchanged by Strzok and Page characterized Trump as a &#8220;loathsome human being,&#8221; an &#8220;idiot&#8221; and a &#8220;disaster.&#8221; At one point Strzok texted, &#8220;He&#8217;s never going to become president, right?&#8221; Page answered, &#8220;No, no, he won&#8217;t. We&#8217;ll stop it.&#8221;
Swanson told BizPac Review, &#8220;I will be in the stage performance of &#8216;FBI Lovebirds: Undercovers,&#8217; and as an actor, I look forward to playing Lisa Page as written by Lisa Page.&#8221;

‘Buffy’ Star: We’re Getting Death Threats For Pro-Trump Play

Donald Trump

Peter Strzok

&#8220;Gosnell: The Trial of America&#8217;s Biggest Serial Killer&#8221; is based on the frightening true story of Dr. Kermit Gosnell, known as &#8220;America&#8217;s most prolific serial killer&#8221; who ran a filthy health care clinic in Philadelphia, where he brutally murdered babies born alive. Through the crowdfunding efforts of producers Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer, the story comes to life in this film.
Detectives James &#8220;Woody&#8221; Wood (Dean Cain) and his partner Stark (AlonZo &#8220;Zo&#8221; Rachel) are investigating illegal prescription drug sales when they hear a name, Dr. Kermit Gosnell (Earl Billings). 
Convincing district attorney Dan Molinari (Michael Beach) and assistant district attorney Alexis &#8220;Lexy&#8221; McGuire (Sarah Jane Morris) to back warrants for Gosnell&#8217;s abortion clinic, what they find shocks them. They find his clinic and later home in abhorrent condition, infested with cats and fleas. 
The investigators find a chilling trail of deaths in the clinic, not just of babies, but of adults. They learn that the health department had not investigated his establishment in over a decade, even after receiving complaints. They are also shocked to find only a single reporter in the courtroom when the case goes to trial. 
Throughout the film, the charismatic <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/36005/leaked-npr-emails-uncover-coordinated-effort-cover-amanda-prestigiacomo">Dr. Gosnell</a> maintains his chilling composure through the events of the movie.
&#8220;Gosnell&#8221; takes on one of the most horrifying stories in modern day America. McElhinney and McAleer do a good job of bringing this tragedy to its fruition. The movie does not retreat into political correct stance that most of Hollywood takes when developing a film that discusses this kind of topic or, as the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/11215/hollywood-continues-coverup-gosnell-case-hank-berrien">media</a> did with this story, ignore it all together.
With Nick Searcy as director and The Daily Wire&#8217;s own Andrew Klavan as lead screenplay writer, it is packed with talent. The cast including Dean Cain, Sarah Jane Morris, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/33873/exclusive-gosnell-actress-discusses-moment-she-christian-toto">Tessya Whatley</a>, AlonZo Rachel, all whom deliver in their roles, but especially Earl Billings. 
Billings played Gosnell with a chilling focus, bringing to life the nonchalant attitude he had toward his crimes, his utter disregard for human life, and the cold, dirty way he ran his life and his clinic. 
The story of Kermit Gosnell&#8217;s murder spree remained hidden from the public for many years and this film accurately brings the tragedy to life. It is bold, forceful, and does not try to hide the horrors that were committed against the children and adults that passed through the Gosnell clinic. 
You can watch the trailer below:
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<div class="embed video fluid-video"><iframe loading="lazy" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ttwkr8MM9Rk" width="800"></iframe></div>

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‘Gosnell’ Review: A Chilling True Story

Andrew Klavan

Murder

Philadelphia

Documentary filmmaker Phelim McAleer of FrackNation, and the playwright behind &#8220;The Caterers,&#8221; Jonathan Leaf, have written a new production they are <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-18-billion-prize-drama#/updates/all">crowdfunding</a> titled &#8220;The $18-Billion Prize,&#8221; a new play from Verbatim Theater Production company. 
According to the writers, the play is based on the trial and transcripts of the environmental court case &#8220;Donziger v. Chevron Corp,&#8221; a 1993 lawsuit brought against Chevron, which was accused by the Harvard-educated American lawyer Steven Donziger of polluting the Amazon rainforest. 
The case was covered by &#8220;Vanity Fair,&#8221; &#8220;Rolling Stone,&#8221; and &#8220;60 Minutes,&#8221; bringing in the Hollywood elite to stand against Chevron in the name of supporting the environment. 
In 2011, an Ecuadorian court ruled in favor of Donziger, ordering Chevron to pay out $18.1 billion, making it one of the largest civil court judgments of all time.
However, Chevron challenged the judgment in America. After ordering Donziger to turn over his records, the case revealed that the plaintiff had bribed judges, committed fraud, and engaged in corruption to achieve his goal, even bribing several celebrities to speak out against Chevron. After this discovery, McAleer says, the mainstream media lost complete interest in the greatest fraud perpetrated under the guise of environmentalism. 
&#8220;This play is also about the failure of journalism,&#8221; McAleer said. &#8220;The Chevron case was one of the first examples of &#8216;fake news.&#8217; I think audience members will be very surprised, even shocked, when they hear the clear and unaltered truth about the events that took place.&#8221;
McAleer told The Daily Wire in a statement, &#8220;I hope they walk away entertained because it is very dramatic and very funny seeing the way this fraud was engineered, and the sexual shenanigans of Hollywood celebs gone wild in the jungle. This was all recorded by Steven Donziger the lawyer for the environmentalists.&#8221;
&#8220;I also hope they walk away with the truth &#8212; with the realization that the story that was spun in the mainstream media was completely bogus. Since the truth emerged the media have not corrected the record &#8212; so it looks like they were engaged in Fake News, not accidentally inaccurate news.&#8221;
Directed by Richard Kuhlman, &#8220;The $18-Billion Prize&#8221; opens May 19 and runs through June 3 at San Francisco&#8217;s Phoenix Theatre. You can find out more at their <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-18-billion-prize-drama#/">website</a>.

New Play Exposes The Dark Side Of The Environmental Movement

Amazon

California

Environmentalism

San Francisco

In anticipation of the New York City debut of FERGUSON on October 23, I interviewed playwright Phelim McAleer about his work, as well as the controversy surrounding it.
As background, McAleer and his partner, Ann McElhinney, are no strangers to controversy. Together, they wrote a book and film about abortionist Kermit Gosnell. While the film has not yet been released, the book, Gosnell: The Untold Story of America&#8217;s Most Prolific Serial Killer, is available on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EEQ9D0I/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&amp;btkr=1">Amazon</a>. Additionally, they&#8217;ve produced several documentary films, including FrackNation and Not Evil Just Wrong.
FERGUSON, which debuted in Los Angeles in 2015, is what&#8217;s known as a &#8220;verbatim&#8221; play. Every word spoken on stage is actual Grand Jury testimony from key eyewitnesses to the shooting death of Michael Brown in 2014.
What made you pursue a Ferguson play?
It&#8217;s a very dramatic story &#8212; the last hours of a man&#8217;s life as told by multiple eyewitness points of view. It&#8217;s also a great way of bringing the truth to people.
Why did you choose the &#8220;verbatim&#8221; style?
Again, it was more dramatic than anything I could have created &#8212; during the staged reading, people were hanging on every word &#8212; because they knew this was real, not the invented words of a playwright.
What was the reaction for the first showing in Los Angeles?
Well, when we had the staged reading in L.A., nine members of the cast walked out because the truth didn&#8217;t match what the media had told them, and what they had wanted to believe in. One actress described taking part in the play as akin to taking part in a KKK rally.
One critic, Kevin O&#8217;Keefe of Mic.com, called the staged reading &#8220;dangerous&#8221; and a &#8220;powder keg ready to reignite racial tensions.&#8221;
However LA Weekly, whose critic actually attended the reading in L.A. (unlike Kevin O&#8217;Keefe), <a href="http://www.laweekly.com/arts/yes-the-new-play-ferguson-is-divisive-but-its-riveting-5522547">said</a> it was &#8220;riveting&#8221; and &#8220;an incendiary night of theater.&#8221; They also said it was revitalizing theater in L.A. &#8212; a city normally dominated by the movies.
How have audiences reacted to seeing real testimony? Have any minds changed?
Yes. I have spoken to people who have thanked me for doing this &#8212; introducing them to things they did not know.
Regarding the actors walking out at the L.A. show, did they not know what it was about? Can you explain the situation more?
They probably heard Ferguson and thought it would be a play reflecting what the media said was the truth. I opted to go with the actual truth. To quote Jack Nicholson, it looks like they just couldn&#8217;t handle the truth.
What do you expect from a New York City crowd?
Let&#8217;s see.
Do you expect more actor walkouts, or are these actors well-versed in what&#8217;s going on? 
Well, I assume they know how to use Google, so they will be clear about what the play is. I also assume they will be professional and do what they agreed to do &#8212; although this assumption cost me dearly in Los Angeles.
What is your intended impact for this play?
To get the truth out. I&#8217;d also like to bring the play on tour &#8212; eventually to Ferguson itself.
Information:
FERGUSON debuts October 23 at 7:30 p.m. at the 30th Street Theatre in New York City.
Previews begin October 19, and the show runs through November 5. For more information, including how to acquire tickets, visit the show&#8217;s Indiegogo page <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ferguson-the-play-world-premiere-in-nyc#/">here</a>.

EXCLUSIVE: Interview With ‘FERGUSON’ Playwright, Phelim McAleer

Ferguson

Journalist and filmmaker Phelim McAleer has pulled back the veil of fiction from reality again with another compelling production, FERGUSON, the Play, which exposes the truth of what really happened in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO. McAleer provided an exclusive <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/4504/exclusive-what-really-happened-ferguson-phelim-mcaleer">piece</a> to The Daily Wire about how the play is now being released on film, and spoke to The Daily Wire to provide further details on the production.
Q: What inspired you to produce it [FERGUSON the Play]?
A: Well, I think there&#8217;s been a lot of stories, a lot of media, about Ferguson and Michael Brown. It&#8217;s clear to me that no one&#8217;s actually read the grand jury testimony, or read even a lot of it, and it&#8217;s 5,000 pages, so as journalists it&#8217;s our duty to read these things and try to tell the truth about what&#8217;s happened. So I decided to do that. The way to communicate most efficiently and most entertainingly, in a way that people would pay attention to, was in a play to have people actually speak the words of those eyewitnesses. And that&#8217;s why I wrote the play, because it&#8217;s compelling when you hear truth coming out of people&#8217;s mouths. Obviously a play is very restricted in that you have to go to the theater to see it, so that&#8217;s why I decided to film the actors reading the script and put it online at The Daily Wire because that&#8217;s the way that so many more people will get to see the truth about what happened in Ferguson on that morning.
Q: How did you come up with the concept with having the whole play be entirely nonfiction to the point where all the lines were exactly as they were from the grand jury testimony?
A: Verbatim theater is a relatively well-known and common type of theater in the U.K., where I&#8217;m from; I&#8217;m from Ireland, across the Atlantic. There&#8217;s been a long history of verbatim theater; public tribunals, court cases, etc. are issues of importance that were in a public forum. The most famous of all was the Bloody Sunday tribunal, where there was a massacre by the British army and then there was a tribunal into it that lasted two years, so they distilled two years of testimony about this one incident that happened in a morning in Northern Ireland and then distilled it into a play using only verbatim testimony. And, you know, I thought that this was a perfect example. This is shaping up to be America&#8217;s Bloody Sunday. It&#8217;s a very important event in recent American history, and I wanted to get the truth about it out there before a bunch of untruths ran ahead and became facts when they weren&#8217;t facts.
Q: How were you able to condense the entire grand jury testimony into 90 minutes? 
A: I wanted a lot of eyewitness testimony, that&#8217;s most important. I wanted a lot of forensic testimony and scientific testimony because that&#8217;s important, too, and I wanted it from all points of view from all sides. I have people there who are claiming that Michael Brown did put his hands up and say &#8220;Don&#8217;t shoot!&#8221; and I have people who say, &#8220;That couldn&#8217;t have happened, that didn&#8217;t happen,&#8221; eyewitnesses saying it didn&#8217;t happen, scientific and forensic evidence saying it didn&#8217;t happen. So I wanted to get a range of eyewitness accounts but I wanted also to show what happened to those eyewitness accounts when they were put under the glare of under-oath questioning and the glare of science and the glare of forensics and the glare of all the contradictory eyewitness account. Very often they&#8217;re put under the glare of simple physics, with investigators saying, &#8220;You say you saw this from that window. It is physically impossible to see that from this window.&#8221;
Very often, these witnesses told the media this fantastic story that fit into the media narrative, but when they went into the grand jury they completely changed their story. I thought that was unfair to the world, it was unfair to the media audience, that these people were saying something on a news program and then saying something completely different when they were under oath under the fear of perjury. I thought it was important to show this contradiction and these inconsistencies. I also wanted to create a dramatic run-up to this event because it&#8217;s a very dramatic event, so I wanted to get as many eyewitnesses, point of view, it&#8217;s almost like a minute-by-minute, step-by-step account of the death of Michael Brown, and I wanted it to be that.
Q: You said in your piece this morning there were nine people who walked out on your play last year, in one case 24 hours before. Could you explain exactly what happened with that and how you were able to pull together a new cast of members so quickly?
A: Nine actors walked out because when they read the script, when they read eyewitness accounts of what happened to Michael Brown. It didn&#8217;t match with what they wanted it to say and they wanted me to change the script to match their opinions. All very well, but sorry, you don&#8217;t get to change people&#8217;s eyewitness testimony. I&#8217;m offering you this great role, you say you&#8217;re a courageous actor, your colleagues give you awards that say you&#8217;re courageous actors. Show some courage. That&#8217;s what I want, show some courage and actually take a role that may make your friends think again, that they make society think again. Take a role that makes a difference, don&#8217;t take a role that all your friends agree with. Take a role that challenges them.
But when it came down to it, these nine actors weren&#8217;t able to do that, they didn&#8217;t have courage. They talk about being brave actors; I found very little bravery in these actors. They walked out and I had not added one paragraph; I had not added one line. They wanted to give a voice to the people of Ferguson, actually. They wanted to voice the concerns of activists, racial activists and elites that were pushing this story. But they weren&#8217;t allowing ordinary people of Ferguson who saw this in real time to have a voice, and that&#8217;s sad, actually. That&#8217;s sad.
Q: So how were you able to pull together a new cast of members so quickly, since it was roughly a week before the play was being put into production?
A: Well, it was a staged reading, so that meant we didn&#8217;t have as much rehearsal time as there would be for a full play, but also, I was crowd funding. I crowdfunded it, so I was able to raise money and go out, cast a wider net. A lot of actors volunteered their services because some actors saw what happened. They thought, &#8220;I need to step in here and actually make sure this play goes ahead.&#8221; So, you know, hard work. We had a great casting agency as well, we were able to use their experience and their depth of their knowledge to find actors who were willing to perform.
Q: How has the play been received so far?
A: Very well. As you can see, from a lot of the reviews, people find it very compelling and the truth of course is compelling. That was one thing I noticed in the actual theater when the play was on, the audience was behaving more assertively than any other audience I had ever seen in a play: they were hanging on every word. Quite often, the audience sits back at a play and absorbs what&#8217;s said, and for FERGUSON they were leaning forward, not wanting to let a single word [get by] because they knew every word was genuine, every word was a genuine word uttered by a real person about a very important issue, so they didn&#8217;t want to miss a word. And, you know, the critics seem to really like it; I&#8217;m hoping that people will comment on the YouTube section or comment on The Daily Wire, I&#8217;m keen to hear what people think about FERGUSON the Play as it is.
Q: Do you have any live performances coming up?
A: No, I&#8217;m hoping this filming of FERGUSON will attract some attention and people will want to put it on across America, maybe bring it to New York. Also, I want to bring it to Ferguson, MO. I think the people of Ferguson who weren&#8217;t in the grand jury, who haven&#8217;t took the time to read 5,000 pages of grand jury testimony, will want this to be shown in their community and encourage it to be shown in their community, and maybe they could put it on in their community, because everyone deserves the truth but the people of Ferguson particularly deserve the truth.
Q: What&#8217;s the one thing you want people to take away from watching this play?
A: That the story they initially heard about Michael Brown&#8217;s death is mostly bogus. There are so many parts of the story that&#8217;s out there that are bogus and that&#8217;s not me saying that; that&#8217;s eyewitnesses from Ferguson saying that, and many of them are black eyewitnesses. Many of them are African-American who bravely stood up and challenged the view that elites were pushing, the view that the racial entrepreneurs were pushing. They said, &#8220;No this is what I saw, this is what happened.&#8221; The truth needs to be told.
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EXCLUSIVE: Q&A With FERGUSON Filmmaker Phelim McAleer

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