“Rarely is a show with so few props so powerful”, The Independent
The Lady of Burma – a one woman play about the life of Aung San Suu Kyi – leader of Burma’s democracy movement – will be performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, presented by the Burma Campaign UK and producer Louise Chantal.
The Lady of Burma was written and directed by Richard Shannon, and stars Liana Mau Tan Gould. The play’s acclaimed gala performance was at the prestigious Old Vic Theatre in London in November last year.
THE LADY OF BURMA
16.45 daily (finish 18.00) The show runs from 3-27th August, except 13 August at Assembly@St George’s West
Box office 0131 623 3030[url=http://www.assemblyfestival.com]http://www.assemblyfestival.com[/url]
Aung San Suu Kyi isn’t allowed to see her two sons, grandchildren, family, friends or colleagues as all visitors are banned. Her phone line is cut and her post is intercepted. In 1999 Suu Kyi’s husband, Michael Aris, died of cancer – the Burmese authorities refusing her a visit from him prior to his death. Many of her supporters have been jailed or killed, notably in the Depayin massacre of May 2003, when up to a hundred were beaten to death by a regime militia.
*Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest from 1989-1995, and again from 2000-2002. She was again arrested in May 2003 after the Depayin massacre. She is currently under house arrest in Rangoon. Aung San Suu Kyi’s message is a simple one – that only by “fighting fear can you truly be free” – a message Burma’s military fears and aims to silence.
* Burma is ruled by one of the most brutal and corrupt regimes in the world responsible for the widespread use of forced labour. Over 1 million people have been forced from their homes since 1988. There are currently at least 1100 political prisoners in Burma, many of whom are routinely tortured, and as many as 70,000 child soldiers – more than any other country in the world. Rape is used as a weapon of war against ethnic women and children. Nearly half the government budget is spent on the military and just 19p per person per year on health. One in ten children die before their fifth birthday.
For more information about Aung San Suu Kyi, visit:http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/aboutburma/aung_san_suu_kyi.htm
To interview Richard Shannon, writer and director of the play, contact Anna Roberts, Acting Director of the Burma Campaign UK, on 020 7324 4711