Major General (Retired) Charles E. Tucker (USAF) is the Executive Director of the International Human Rights Law Institute. For more than 25 years, he has been an international rule of law and humanitarian law practitioner. He was routinely seconded to the US State Department and various International Organizations. He served multiple tours of duty with the United Nations in various countries and served as Economic and Legal Adviser for the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He also served as an International Law Adviser in the Office of the US Secretary of Defense. Additionally, he served as Legal Adviser for the US Ambassador in Iraq, as well as for State Department and DOD missions in Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, Central and South America. He was named the Air National Guard’s Outstanding Judge Advocate. In his civilian capacity, he served as a Senior Field Attorney for the National Labor Relations Board, where he oversaw the NLRB General Counsel’s adjudication of complex labor rights cases.

This post-show discussion immediately followed the performance of The Island, Remy Bumppo Theatre Company’s current mainstage show. Athol Fugard’s daring drama is set in an unnamed prison based on the one where Nelson Mandela was held. John and Winston are cellmates who spend their days doing back-breaking labor, and their nights rehearsing Sophocles’ Antigone to present to their fellow inmates. When John learns his sentence is being reduced, the men’s friendship is tested. Fugard plays the parallels between Antigone’s fight against political and patriarchal boundaries off of the imprisoned men’s fight for their dignity. The Island is a testament to the resiliency of the human heart.

Recorded Sunday, February 14, 2010 at The Greenhouse Theater.