Girl Be Heard and Human Rights Watch

PRESENTS

WORLD PREMIERE COLLABORATION OF

BREAKING THE SILENCE WITH GIRL BE HEARD

FOR THREE PERFORMANCES ONLY:

February 19, 20, 21 at 8:00PM

AT THE SOHO PLAYHOUSE (15 Vandam Street)

New York, NY – For the first time, Girl Be Heard and Human Rights Watch, will bring together actors from across the globe (who are flying in for this show) to present BREAKING THE SILENCE WITH GIRL BE HEARD at the Soho Playhouse (15 Vandam Street). In an effort to break the cycle of silence around gender-based violence, this groundbreaking collaboration features selections from Breaking the Silence, written for Human Rights Watch, and Girl Be Heard’s, Trafficked and disPLACEd. BREAKING THE SILENCE WITH GIRL BE HEARD runs for three performances only: Thursday, February 19, Friday, February 20, and Saturday, February 21 at 8:00PM. Tickets are $35 and are $20 for students and senior.  Tickets are available by visiting http://girlbeheard.org/.

BREAKING THE SILENCE WITH GIRL BE HEARD highlights a number of global issues faced by millions of women daily. Told through a series of monologues and songs from individual perspectives, the performance is based on fact and exposes the greater universal truths. Issues raised range from trafficking, child marriage to domestic violence, and rape as a war crime; while also addressing wider related issues of refugees, the right to a voice and the right to ownership and education. With a wonderful star cast from stage and cinema, the production is a spotlight on the work of Human Rights Watch, and the horrors that continues to flourish in darkness and silence today. The work is based on the reports and the research of Human Rights Watch as well as the true experiences of Girl Be Heard members, their international partners.

“Breaking the Silence with Girl Be Heard, is evidence that theatre’s healing power transcends borders. This ground-breading collaboration, between Girl Be Heard and Human Rights Watch, is elevating the stories of survivors to the global stage, by harnessing the voices of actors, activists and advocates from around the world. Together, we are breaking the cycle of silence that perpetuates gender-based violence,” said Jessica Morris, CEO of Girl Be Heard.

BREAKING THE SILENCE WITH GIRL BE HEARD is an awareness raising play, written for the Women’s division of Human Rights Watch; and was successfully performed in Geneva 2013 and London 2014. It was selected for the closing ceremony for Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict hosted by William Hague and Angelina Jolie, and will be performed in The Hague April 2015. Premiering in New York Thursday the 19^th to the 21^st February 2015, to coincide with The World Day of Social Justice. The production also opens just two weeks after President Barack Obama announced his campaign “It’s On Us” to end violence against women and girls during the 2015 Grammy Awards.

BREAKING THE SILENCE WITH GIRL BE HEARD is a collaboration of selections from Trafficked and disPLACEd from Girl be Heard, and Breaking the Silence from Human Rights Watch. The cast and writers for selections from Trafficked and disPLACEd include: Aya Abdelaziz, Deanna Alexandra, Georgie Exniord, Noelia Mann, Betsy Perez, Tiff Roma, Melanie Thompson, Danielle Walker, and Sophie Walker. The cast and writers for selections from Breaking the Silence include: Gemma Aston, Susan Craig, Amelia Donker, Adam James, Fraser James, Charlotte Longfield, Katrina Syran, and guitarist Jad Azkoul.

Girl Be Heard is a non-profit theatre and educational program that provides a safe environment for girls to write, direct, and perform theatre productions under the guidance of professional directors, playwrights, actors, activists, and intellectuals. Girl Be Heard’s performances have received critical acclaim from The White House, The United Nations, the New Yorker, The New York Times, Huffington Post, Ebony Magazine, National Public Radio, and media outlets across the globe. Join the movement at girlbeheard.org.

Human Rights Watch is a nonprofit, nongovernmental, human rights organization made up of roughly 400 staff members around the globe. Its staff consists of human rights professionals including country experts, lawyers, journalists, and academics of diverse backgrounds and nationalities. Established in 1978, Human Rights Watch is known for its accurate fact-finding, impartial reporting, effective use of media, and targeted advocacy, often in partnership with local human rights groups. Each year, Human Rights Watch publishes more than 100 reports and briefings on human rights conditions in some 90 countries, generating extensive coverage in local and international media. With the leverage this brings, Human Rights Watch meets with governments, the United Nations, regional groups like the African Union and the European Union, financial institutions, and corporations to press for changes in policy and practice that promote human rights and justice around the world.

The performance schedule for BREAKING THE SILENCE WITH GIRL BE HEARD is Thursday, February 19, Friday, February 20, Saturday, February 21 at 8:00PM. Tickets are $35 or $20 for students and seniors. For more information, visit http://girlbeheard.org/.

Photo by Ashley Marinaccio.