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Simon Heywood first brought ?Out of the Silence? to us in 2017, and those of us who heard it have never forgotten it. Now we?ve invited him to tell it again, the first repeat performance we ever have arranged at the Feast of Fools. It is unflinching, at times harrowing, utterly gripping, and through it all Simon?s story brings moments of humour and uplifting inspiration.
?Out of the Silence? tells the still little-known story of the sixteen thousand who refused to kill. Of the millions conscripted in 1916, they claimed the new right to Conscientious Objection. They included Quakers, Churchgoers, trade unionists, and together the ?conchies? embarked on a bitter and courageous war against war itself.
Their stand split families and communities.
They suffered ridicule, torture, and imprisonment. They played cat-and-mouse with the state.
Some were forced to the front; others went willingly, or toiled at home. Some went mad; some died.
As the strains of war brought government after government to the brink of collapse, and beyond, they dreamed and planned for a world ithout war. Many survived the war to embark on lives of public service.
We reap the benefits of this legacy today.
Their memory has been neglected, and they are still dismissed as cranks.
Drawing on first-hand accounts, letters, diaries and memoirs, storyteller and former peaceworker Simon Heywood brings the voices of conscientious objectors out of the silence.
?Nothing short of superb?
?Absolutely mesmerising... captivating and flawless?
?One of the most moving story performances I have ever heard?
Performed, appropriately enough, in the Quaker Meeting House, Northampton.
Simon Heywood completed a PhD on contemporary storytelling at Sheffield University's National Centre for English Cultural Tradition in 2001. He now lectures and researched in folklore, storytelling and creative writing at Derby University, and has published poetry, fiction and non- fiction. He shared Best Documentary Award at the 2005 Strasbourg Film Festival for Contempt of Conscience . Among other publications he is the author of The Legend of Vortigern (2012) and South Yorkshire Folk Tales (2015).
More details of Storytelling at the Feast of Fools are at http://www.storyfeast.uk/
We look forward to welcoming you there.
Wellington Street,
Northampton,
Northamptonshire,
England,
NN1 3AS.
Sorry, This Event is in the past!
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