Rev's fight for a fairer future

HALLELUJAH! There is help at hand for those who feel we are living in a profit-driven, wicked and dirty world — a world that is rife with advertising, supermarket domination, packaging and global warming.

The saviour for people who think we are suffering from shopping overload is Reverend Billy and his Gospel Choir of Stop Shopping.

Even the most hardened devotee of the shopping culture cannot fail to be persuaded as Reverend Billy and his choir sing, preach, charm, berate, seduce and rescue men, women and children — all in one evening.

The Church of Stop Shopping is a project of The Immediate Life, a New York arts organisation.

It uses theatre, humour and grassroots organisations to work with individuals and communities. Its aim is to promote a fairer future for everyone by preserving vibrant communities and local economies.

The Church of Stop Shopping was recently the focus of a documentary by the Academy Award-winning film maker Morgan Spurlock, who directed and starred in Super Size Me.

Whether performing on the street, stage, film or television, the irrepressible Gospel Choir of Stop Shopping is reputed to conjure soaring harmonies lovely enough to convert the most jaded consumer into a Stop Shopping believer.

The 35-strong choir of people of all ages represents a diverse array of economic, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds and includes a member from every continent except Antarctica — but they're working on that.

They are mothers, activists, cyclists, bakers, park lovers, tech-geeks, tinkerers, campers, gardeners, nerds, actors, athletes, executives, hairdressers, designers and more.

Led by theatrical director Savitri Durkee, Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping has organised campaigns against the likes of Starbucks.

The Church of Stop Shopping believes consumerism is overwhelming our lives and the corporations want us to have experiences only through their products.

Reverend Billy and his gospel choir sing and preach for local economies and real — as opposed to mediated through products — experiences, and advocate sustainable consumption, defending free speech, peaceful assembly and public space.

Since 1996 the project has expanded from a one-man performance artist preaching against consumerism on the sidewalks of Times Square in New York to a 35-person choir and seven-strong band with dozens of original songs, a critically acclaimed stage show, a major motion picture and multiple media platforms.

Reverend Billy and the Gospel Choir of Stop Shopping are at Exeter Phoenix on Tuesday, May 26. Doors open at 8pm. Tickets cost £9, or £7 for concessions, or £5 for under-16s. For more information, call 01392 667080.