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Sign
at Jonestown, above Jim Jones' throne:Reconstruction 1999
White Nights will take the form of an two and half hour long re-enactment
with between 150 - 500 reenactors in a public park (yet to be
announced) in London
.It will
be part of a day long event that will commemorate the lives and
world view of the 914 people who died in Jonestown. The Jonestown
event was a tragedy, It is my intention that the reenactment will
reflect this. Integral to the reenactment will be both my narration,
and the Living History displays. The narration will include a
history of The Peoples Temple and a description of the events
that unfolded in the months leading up to the deaths, along with
interviews with various reenactors who in role will describe their
part in the story of Jim Jones and The Peoples Temple. It will
also be supported by a talk on particular aspects of The Peoples
Temple.
The Reenactment: White Nights will be staged in a cordoned area.
A section of the Pavilion building, the stage and Jim Jones' throne
will all be recreated along with other crucial props; the galvanised
bath tub full of purple Kool aid, the slatted wooden walkway,
tables etc. White Nights will centre on the dialogue (through
the Jonestown PA system)that Jim Jones has with various community
members during the suicide ritual. Reenactors will take the 'floor'
at various points to address Jones and the community. The activity
will also centre on the commotion and scene as the kool aid is
distributed and death scene reenacted.
Whilst the deaths at Jonestown have become part of popular history,
the causes that precipitated the deaths and the manner of the
deaths is often misrepresented, particularly by the media. White
Nights will recreate a version of these events that has otherwise
been hidden or misperceived.
Informed by testimony from survivors, ex members and the large
body of documentation, including photographs of the aftermath,
the re-enactment will also be scripted from existing tapes and
transcripts of the event. Re-enactors will move around only a
small amount within a relatively confined area.
White Nights will culminate in the re-enactment of the suicide
with all re-enactors remaining motionless for forty minutes in
the final death scene.
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