‘I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Protestant Church nor by any church that I know. MY OWN MIND IS MY OWN CHURCH.’
The Liberty Tree tells the story of Tom Paine’s extraordinary life, interweaving Paine’s own words, from his letters and the pamphlets that made him one of the most influential writers of his age, with extracts from newspaper reports and other documents of the times. The songs of two of Britain’s finest songwriters, Robb Johnson and Leon Rosselson, add another dimension to the story, reflecting Paine’s radical ideas and evaluating them in the context of today’s world.
This unique blend of words and music challenges received opinion in the same way Paine’s writings did. ‘The present state of civilisation is as odious as it is unjust … The contrast of affluence and wretchedness, continually meeting and offending the eye, is like dead and living bodies chained together.’ (Thomas Paine Agrarian Justice)
‘A highly subversive pairing of two of the left’s most eloquent songwriters’ (The Daily Telegraph)
Tickets : £11/£9 (unwaged concessions) for advance booking, £12/£10 on the door.
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