A Theatre Play Tells the Human Story of the Nuclear Disarmament Movement

26 July 2022 • 
Commentary, Disarmament, Publications
In an interview published by The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, VCDNP Research Associate Louis Reitmann speaks with English theatre writer Chris Thorpe about his new play A Family Business.
Share this:
Theatre writer Chris Thorpe. Credit: The Other Richard

In an interview published by The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, VCDNP Research Associate Louis Reitmann speaks with English theatre writer Chris Thorpe about his new play A Family Business. Thorpe’s show aims to reveal the ordinariness of the decision makers managing nuclear risks, and of the diplomats and activists working for disarmament. It portrays the friendships and antagonism that exist between them and demonstrates that the human dynamics between these experts are the same that we find in the everyday lives of ordinary people.

By incorporating audience engagement elements, the play leaves spectators with a quiet awareness of the acute threat that nuclear weapons pose and allows them to be scared by the scientific truths about nuclear war, without feeling ashamed for their perhaps limited knowledge on the topic.

Speaking on the side-lines of the first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), Thorpe and Reitmann discuss the power of theatre to transform people and about what it will take to abolish nuclear weapons.

Read the full article


Related Experts

Louis Reitmann
Research Fellow

Related Content

The Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor

5 July 2019 • 
The VCDNP hosted the Vienna-based launch of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor, a publication that tracks progress on the TPNW.
Read more

Creating an Environment for Nuclear Disarmament (CEND)

16 July 2019 • 
Dr. William Potter looks at the potential for "Creating an Environment for Nuclear Disarmament" initiative.
Read more
1 2 3 90
cross
linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram