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<\/a>\u201cTwo weeks before the first night, my face became numb and the doctors told me I had a stage 4 lymphoma,\u201d shared Goldstein. \u201cAt the time, I didn\u2019t know if I would live, let alone make it to the Soho Theatre performances. Eighteen months and a stem cell transplant later, I was cured and premi\u00e8red the show at Festival 18, the arts and culture program for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been on the road with it ever since, playing everywhere from poor working-class mining communities in the north of England to remote townships in the Australian outback to Queer Zagreb in Croatia and on to Lincoln Centre in New York \u2013 Truth to Power Caf\u00e9<\/i> is a genuine global hit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since it began, the show has had some 800 diverse participants taking part in eight countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome participants are established writers, artists and community activists, whereas others have never spoken up in public before, let alone centre-stage, under lights in their local theatre, sharing intensely personal life stories in front of their friends and family,\u201d said Goldstein. \u201cI\u2019ve become a vessel through which these stories are told. It\u2019s a very privileged position to be in and I don\u2019t take it for granted. I want people taking part to have a positive experience, so I\u2019m very aware of people\u2019s well-being as part of the process leading up to each performance, and into the show itself. I check in with everyone after the show. Many of our participants have become my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is well aware of how confronting power can put a person in a vulnerable position.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe basic rule in life is don\u2019t rock the boat or to tell a white lie to keep the peace, so whether you choose to speak from the personal, political, professional or even all three, speaking truth to power can put you at risk,\u201d he said. \u201cWe, therefore, make the show in a safe space or, in the words of one our recent participants, Ed Wright: \u2018To talk truth to power, to find our own power, we need to be able to feel safe. To have our power returned to us when it has gone missing, we need to know we have been listened to.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The question being asked \u2013 \u201cWho has power over you and what do you want to say to them?\u201d \u2013 is meant to challenge ideas of power and give voice to people who don\u2019t normally have a chance to speak out, said Goldstein.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople from marginalized communities tend to talk about progressive change, whereas those with privilege and power want to maintain the status quo and have more power,\u201d he said. \u201cWe live in the post-truth age of the demagogue, where fake news is the new norm. In politics, the oppressed often have to fight for the right to simply say what they are experiencing and, in personal relationships, that artificial barrier is also in place. If you have an approach to allowing the conversation to happen, the chances of change occurring are much higher.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Nov. 3 Chutzpah! show is Truth to Power Caf\u00e9<\/i>\u2019s Canadian premi\u00e8re and its 60th performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s extremely rare to have two significant milestones back-to-back,\u201d said Goldstein, \u201cso I can\u2019t wait to celebrate this with the good people of Vancouver.\u201d<\/p>\n