Harmon Leon Infiltrates Trump America
The Cavern Club (6011, 22 Allen St, Te Aro, Wellington 6011)
March 15th – 24th, 8:30
Comedian/author/VICE contributor, Harmon Leon has made a career out of infiltrating extremist groups in Trump America.
Take his hand as he leads you on a multimedia journey into his true-life, undercover exploits with such facets of Trump
America as:
-Anti-immigration vigilantes on the Mexican border
-The world of Christian conversion therapy
-Abortion protesters outside of Planned Parenthood.
Plus songs!
Weird, wildly original and completely incomprehensible - if you're not outraged in Trump America - then you're not
paying attention!
Complete sell-out at the Edinburgh Festival ‘17
REVIEW: NY MAGAZINE
“Harmon is a truly original comic voice. I promise his show is like nothing else you’ll see at the Fringe” – Arj Barker
“I was reminded of the way Spalding Gray would present his great work” NY Theater Guide
'A stand-up version of Louie Theroux' - BroadwayBaby.com
'Weird. Wildly original and completely incomprehensible' ***** Age, Melbourne
“Leon takes a risk with his comedy and audiences should too” ***** Adelaide Advertiser
“This was the kind of risky performance the Fringe is supposed to be about" (Rip It Up/Australia)
BIO: Harmon Leon has performed comedy around the world, including the Edinburgh, Melbourne, Dublin, Vancouver, and Montreal Comedy
Festivals. He's appeared on The Howard Stern Show, This American Life, Last Call With Carson Daly, Penn & Teller’s Bullshit, as well as the BBC. Harmon also costarred with the infamous OJ Simpson on a hidden camera reality show called Juiced!
Harmon is also the author of seven books. His stories have appeared in VICE, Esquire, The Nation, National Geographic, Salon, Huffington Post, NPR’s, This American Life, Details, Maxim, Cracked, SF Chronicle, Playboy, Cosmopolitan, and Wired.
Meet the Deplorables
Infiltrating Trump America
by Harmon Leon and Ted Rall
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Overview
Legendary infiltration journalist HARMON LEON is at it again, this time teaming up with ferocious political cartoonist TED RALL to answer the question most of America has been asking: "What the hell happened in 2016?" In their new book, Meet the Deplorables: Infiltrating Trump America, Leon goes deep undercover into the heart of Trump America, and Rall—two-time winner of the RFK Journalism Award and a
Pulitzer Prize finalist—adds an innovative extra dimension to the book with his own essays and full-color cartoons.
Running throughout Meet the Deplorables, Rall’s distinctive artwork enhances the insightful and often irreverent tone employed by Leon—an award-winning New
York journalist whose stories have appeared in VICE, Esquire, The Nation, and National Geographic. In his inimitable Gonzo-style, Leon’s carefully crafted narrative is designed to help us understand (and humanize) the
"deplorables," a word used by Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign to describe the racist, sexist, homophobic, and
xenophobic supporters of Donald J. Trump.
For the sake of humor and satire, Leon ventures where elite coastal journalists dare not: deep into Red State territory,
where his audacious accounts vicariously take readers on a journey of enlightenment by providing a fresh and first-hand
perspective of right-wing subcultures and those most adversely affected by Trump’s appalling policies on immigration,
healthcare reform, and race relations. His exploits include:
• visiting an anti-Muslim hate group during the height of Islamophobia
• knocking door-to-door as a canvasser for the Trump campaign
• joining a conversion therapy group that tries to “turn” homosexuals straight
• attending a gun store wedding where couples seal vows by firing assault rifles
• watching fanatics receive free Trump tattoos
• participating in a Christian purity ring ceremony in Ohio.
This unique collaboration between the formidable team of Harmon Leon and Ted Rall holds up a mirror to modern
conservative life and reflects a reality that is outrageous, entertaining, and always illuminating.
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