Broadway, 1937. A young genius named Orson Welles is the toast of the New York theatre, following groundbreaking productions of Dr. Faustus and a voodoo version of Macbeth. He's about to follow these up with The Cradle Will Rock, a new left-wing opera for the Federal Theatre Project. But, on the first night, the US government have withdrawn their support, and locked the company out of the theatre. Can they find another venue? And what got them to this situation? It's All True tells the story of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock and its legendary first night when Welles, and his producer John Houseman, walked their audience to a newly-hired theatre and the cast, banned from the stage by union rules, sat in the auditorium, standing to speak or sing their parts. This performance led to the formation of the Mercury Theatre, and Welles' later sensations on radio with War of the Worlds and in the cinema with Citizen Kane. It's All True is a play about idealism, expediency and the necessity of art, and what happens when a politically engaged composer entrusts his work to a young meteor on his way to fame.| 14 Aug 12 to 8 Sep 12 | White Bear Inner London, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive |
