the team

The Directors

Stephen Rea was born in Belfast. He trained at the Abbey Theatre School in Dublin. After several stage, television and film appearances, he came to international success with his performance in The Crying Game (1992), for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor. In 1980, he co-founded the Field Day Theatre Company, which has gone on to produce dozens of plays by some of Ireland’s leading poets and playwrights and established the company as an influential intellectual and cultural force in Ireland. He recently won a BAFTA for his work in An Honorable Woman and can be seen currently on the BBC in War and Peace and Dickensian.

Anthony Arnove produced the Academy Award–nominated documentary Dirty Wars and wrote, directed, and produced The People Speak with Howard Zinn. He is the editor of several books, including Voices of a People’s History of the United States, which he co-edited with Zinn; The People Speak, which he co-edited with Colin Firth, based on the television documentary he co-directed with Firth; The Essential Chomsky; Howard Zinn Speaks; and Iraq Under Siege; and is the author of Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal. He has directed and/or produced live shows in Trafalgar Square, Southbank Centre, Prince of Wales Theatre, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall. He has worked with Bob Dylan, Matt Damon, Bruce Springsteen, Marisa Tomei, Ian McKellen, and many other leading artists of our time.

The Producers

Working as co-producer alongside Rea and Arnove, Bill Shipsey is the founder of Art for Amnesty, Amnesty International’s global artist engagement program. He is also the creator, producer and director of Amnesty’s most prestigious international human rights Award event — the Ambassador of Conscience Award — an accolade that has been bestowed on such diverse activists as Nelson Mandela, Václav Havel, Aung San Suu Kyi, Malala Yousafzai, Harry Belafonte, Joan Baez, Ai Weiwei and U2. He was co-executive producer of Instant Karma — Amnesty’s multi-star benefit album of John Lennon compositions. He has consulted widely with other human rights organisations around the world seeking to partner with artists in the promotion of human rights. In 2012 he produced and directed the hugely successful Electric Burma concert in honour of Aung San Suu Kyi in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.

Executive Producer Michael Watt is an entrepreneur and owner of renowned London jazz club Ronnie Scott's. Michael has interests in many Broadway, West End and Australian theatre productions as well as music. He is the only New Zealander to have received a Tony and with partner Korda Marshall, he owns the record label Infectious, which includes the major Australian band The Temper Trap, the American band, Local Natives, and Mercury Music Prize 2012 winners Alt-J.

A dedicated conservationist and supporter of a wide range of charitable organisations including ventures in Cuba, Nicaragua, Syria, Mozambique and a music school in South Africa, he was awarded the ONZ for International Philanthropy.

The Associate Producers

Anna Strout has collaborated on casting, production and funding for Voices of a People’s History projects since 2007. As Director of Special Projects & Events for arts education nonprofit Urban Arts Partnership, she develops and directs social justice focused filmmaking, theater and writing programs; as well as produces and books talent for signature benefits such as The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway, Master Classes and launches with leading companies. Over the years, Anna has also lent her production and talent scouting skills to numerous socio-historical documentaries broadcast on PBS, The History Channel, and The Learning Channel; multimedia DVDs, music releases and publications; museum exhibits at The New York Historical Society, the National Buildings Museum, and The Museum of the City of New York. Anna is a global core member of the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies network.

Róisín Davis is a journalist and researcher with a background in social research, community work and women’s rights. She holds an MA in Economic History and has published articles in a number of academic journals and political websites. Born in Belfast, she currently lives in New York.