On the 23rd of September 2021, a group of veterans, widows, and descendants sat and watched a very special performance of A Thousand Sons by Jamie Sefton.
Based on the true story of Doug Hern and his experiences at Operation Grapple and his struggles with his health, his family's health, and the fight for truth and justice.
Jamie arrived on the 22nd of September and experienced the dancers from the Kiribati Tungari Association and was introduced to the community.
His performance was eagerly anticipated by the veterans, widows, and descendants. After a quiz, raffle, and lunch, the audience waited with anticipation. Many veterans did not know what to expect. What they witnessed was an extremely powerful and passionate performance.
Jamie had to adapt his performance to meet the layout of the room, normally his performances are in a theatre with a lowered stage which enables the audience to be higher than the stage. The play had never been performed to the veterans on which it was based.
Alan Owen introduced the performance, with a warning to the audience that the content may bring back memories and that Jamie would not be upset if anyone felt that they could not watch and had to leave. As the performance started, the passion for the play was evident. Jamie stood, with flash gear and a chair, with Kelsey providing the audio. The audience was engrossed, silence across the room.
Jamie's powerful performance, interacting with the audience, brought many of the veterans to tears. 2 members of the audience were so moved by the performance that they had to leave the room.
Jamie portrayed the main character (Bertie) and his performance was unbelievable. To deliver the message of nuclear testing and the effects, the struggle for truth and justice all within 45 minutes was incredible. His performance, after 2 years of research, many calls with Doug Hern, many iterations, hundreds of hours writing and rehearsing brought these messages from the attendees:
"So Powerful"
"Mind-Blowing"
"The passion and delivery were exceptional"
"He moved me to tears"
"It needs to be shown to MP's, they should be forced to watch it!"
"It needs to be made into a screenplay"
"We need to promote this play and Jamie and further his career, he is fantastic"
After the performance, Jamie answered questions from the audience, pledged his support for the #lookmeintheeye campaign, and posed for pictures. His performance will never be forgotten by the audience. One veteran said:
"I have the image of the mushroom cloud in my head,
now that is joined with Jamie's performance.
I will never forget how powerful this performance was"
We will be working with Jamie in the future on this project and will ensure that his performance is seen by as many people as possible. Once you see the performance, you will never forget it.
We would like to thank Jamie and Kelsey for this very special performance, the first time A Thousand Sons had been performed in front of the Nuclear Veterans. We would also like to thank Doug Hern who provided the story for Jamie to base the performance on.
Further images from the performance:
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