To begin the world over again: the life of Thomas Paine

The Play

To Begin the World Over Again: the Life of Thomas Paine is the very personal story of one of history’s most misunderstood men. He moved through the world challenging the dogma and superstitions that had ruled the lives of the masses for centuries, and embracing the Age of Enlightenment.

It was Paine’s writings in short, simple sentences, understood by those masses, that changed the world. Excerpts from his great works are read throughout the play and elicit gasps from audiences because they are so alive and relevant today.

And this is a story of history made out of blood and toil, of disasters when the timing is off and triumphs when it falls into place, and of happenings that would be hard to believe, were they not actually true. Through it all Paine maintained an optimism that we could actually “begin the world over again”.

The play features a beautiful soundtrack and a magnificent if appropriately disheveled, costume and wig for Mr. Paine. It will leave you with a new understanding of the revolutions and the search for enlightenment that forged the world that we live in today.