Can being good change the world?
Created in response to the riots of August 2011, 366 Days of Kindness tells the heartbreaking, surprising and challenging stories of a year full of acts of kindness and plays at The Door at The REP from Tuesday 17th–Saturday 21 stDecember as part of a UK tour.
In August 2011, Bernadette Russell stood behind a teenager in a hoodie in the post office, her mind preoccupied with images of the London riots. When the boy discovered he didn’t have enough money to post his letter, she decided to give him the money he needed. Delighted with his positive reaction, she vowed to carry on and be kind to a total stranger every day for a year – 366 days in total as 2012 was a leap year.
Part storytelling, part stand-up, part live documentary, 366 Day of Kindness charts her journey which began with burning buildings set against a backdrop of social unrest and economic crisis and ended with the flame of the Olympic torch at London 2012. Her diary of kindness includes entries for leaving a £1 coin on a tube seat, giving flowers to a stranger, buying doughnuts for the Olympic games makers, leaving a ‘note of kindness’ in a phone box and offering a plate of fondant fancies to visiting Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Featuring a dinner party with surprise guests including the Dalai Lama, Aristotle and Princess Diana, this multi-media show attempts to answer the question – Is it possible to change the world just by being kind?
366 Days of Kindness is written and performed by Bernadette Russell and Gareth Brierley of White Rabbit and directed by Tessa Walker. Bernadette said of the project: “After the year was up, I realised that it was the best thing I had ever done, and I’d better just carry on! So I still do it every day.” As a result of her project, she was invited onto BBC Radio 4’s Saturday Live to talk about her experiences, where Billy Bragg taught her the chords to Milkman of Human Kindness to use in the show.
Award-winning White Rabbit is an arts organisation creating theatre, cabaret, installation, film, audio and live-lit events. White Rabbit has always loved to tell tales and is committed to producing high quality, soul absorbing, gut wrenching and side-splitting stories. Previous projects have included Are you Sitting Comfortably?, a platform for short-stories and short-story writers, inspired by a love of BBC Radio’s Listen With Mother.
During the run of 366 Days of Kindness, an interactive installation and special charity project called Coat Tales, will take place in the foyer of The REP, whereby members of the public can donate a coat for someone in need. For every coat donated the donor will be asked to write a “note of kindness’ – a short note to the person who receives the coat so it becomes not just an anonymous donation but a real communication between people.
Tickets: £12 with concessions available. Box Office: 0121 236 4455 Online booking: birmingham-rep.co.uk
