CPR Performance Archive

THE MONKEY TRIAL: Performance by Tg STAN (Belgium) [December 2007]
Thurs 13th Dec, 7.30 pm - CPR, The Foundry Studio, Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth and Fri 14th Dec, 7.30 pm - Chapter Theatre, Market Road, Canton, Cardiff

CPR Visiting Artists series presents the UK premiere of

The Monkey Trial

By Tg STAN (Belgium)

(performed in English

I believe God did create the world. And I think we're finding out more and more and more as to how it actually happened.

George W. Bush, interview in U.S. News, 6 December 1999

"You can't make a monkey out of me", sings a voice on squeaky old vinyl. On a screen running the entire width of the stage we see smartly dressed men wearing cane hats as protection against the scorching sun, moving jerkily to and fro in a black and white film.

Dayton, Tennessee, 1925. The case can open.

American State of Tennessee v. defendant John Scopes, a young biology teacher, accused of breaking the law because he taught the theory of evolution to his classes. The case of the biology teacher became a clash of the titans between fundamentalism and modernism, religion and science, dogma and intellectual freedom.

Dubbed 'The Monkey Trial', it became one of the most high profile and sensational lawsuits of the century in America, full of rhetorical fireworks, and the first trial to be broadcast in radio. The transcription of the proceedings makes for a fascinating and thrilling read that is still astonishingly topical.


STAN's theatre makes you very much aware of your own layer of [bourgeois] fat. They hone your awareness of your own attitude till it's razor-sharp. That which only a minute ago tickled - since STAN's theatre verges on the hilarious - now suddenly stabs beneath your calloused skin.

Luk Van den Dries

The result is a sometimes hilarious exposition about biblical improbabilities in a battle fought by he-men who have right on their side. It is a rhetorical battle, as bombastic as it is futile, as the anticlimax of the eventual verdict shows, but it is also a disturbing portrait of the arbitrariness of ‘justice'. The direction and the wonderful performance by the three actors as well as the surprising topicality of the material make this play an absolute must.

Elke Van Campenhout, De Standaard

O ganlyniad fe geir eglurhad, sydd weithiau’n hynod ddoniol, ar ddigwyddiadau beiblaidd annhebygol mewn brwydr rhwng rhyfelwyr gwrol sydd, bob un, yn ymladd dros gyfiawnder. Brwydr rethregol yw hi, sydd yr un mor swnllyd ag y mae’n ofer, fel y mae disgynneb y dyfarniad terfynol yn ei ddangos yn y pendraw, ond mae hefyd yn cynnig portread anghysurus o natur fympwyol ‘cyfiawnder’. Mae’r cyfeirio a’r perfformiad gwych gan y tri actor, yn ogystal â’r ffaith ei bod hi’n syndod o amserol, yn golygu bod rhaid i chi fynd i weld y ddrama hon.

Elke Van Campenhout, De Standaard,


You can judge for yourself if John T. Scopes committed a crime, but what is certain is that The Monkey Trial is marvellous theatre.

Wim Smets, Knack

Two keywords characterise Tg STAN: ‘actor-oriented' and ‘undogmatic'. The undogmatic aspect is reflected in the name - S(top) T(hinking) A(bout) N(ames) - as well as in the repertoire. For STAN the actor is the keystone. Although the company works without a director and refuses to harmonise - or perhaps because of this headstrong attitude - the best STAN performances have a powerful unity. The actors' pleasure in their work makes the sparks fly, while communicating forceful social or even political statements without ever moralising.

Wherever the company turns up there is an infectious enthusiasm for the way they make theatre. But it is much harder to say what they are a model for. STAN has not made a positive decision to develop its own style. It has no aesthetic programme. Artistic labels and genre definitions (intercultural, visual and suchlike) fail entirely in the face of their principle of diversity...STAN's true individuality lies... at a much deeper level... They see acting as being present. Night after night their principle is that it has to happen now... all decided at the moment itself. This gives a tremendous openness and directness to the quality of the acting.

Luk Van den Dries


For more information or to book a ticket to attend the performance in Aberystwyth, please call CPR at (0) 1970 622 133 or email cprwww@aber.ac.uk

To book a ticket for the Cardiff performance contact the Chapter Box-Office (0)29 2030 4400

Tickets are £10 (£8 Concessions) for both performances

More information on THE MONKEY TRIAL: Performance by Tg STAN (Belgium) can be found at:

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