Local reading of Guantanamo Sept. 30 highlights treatment of ‘enemy combatants'

WARWICK-An upcoming reading of the play Guantanamo: Honor Bound To Defend Freedom on Friday, Sept. 30, in Warwick, will highlight the Bush Administration's treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m. upstairs at the Mechanical Rubber Building at 77 Forester Ave., in Warwick. There is no fee. This local production, coordinated by Hope Arber and directed by Paul Ellis with the assistance of Gloria Bonnelli, also include performances by Donna Spector, Richard Hull, Patricia DeBruhl, Griff Fassett, Brian Nieves, Brendon McManus, Ann Hansen, Geoff Howard, Susie Stage and John Stage. The play, written by Victoria Brittain and Gillian Slovo, was first performed in London, and later played in New York and San Francisco where critics continued to praise the work. At the time of the play's New York debut, Ben Brantley of The New York Times wrote that the play "exerts an icy visceral charge" and is "deeply moving" in its portrayal of the situation at Guantanamo on a personal level. Guantanamo tells the true story of four people (three British citizens and one Iraqi national who had been living legally in the United Kingdom for 21 years prior to his detention) detained by the Bush Administration. It weaves together personal accounts from letters and interviews, legal opinion and political debate from the public record, including statements by U.K. and U.S. officials. At present, three of these detainees have been released without charges. One remains in Guantanamo in political and legal limbo, as the British government refuses to represent him. This performance of the play is part of a nationwide effort organized by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee to have the play performed in communities around the country in order to highlight the situation at Guantanamo. Further information can be found online at www.ccr-ny.org/gac. For questions about the performance, call Arber at 986-2744.