In a canny election night coup, activist Jeremy Goldstein’s Truth to Power Café is coming to the intimate surrounds of Tuggeranong Arts Centre on May 3.

Told through memoir, poetry, image, music and film, the project is about finding one’s voice and speaking truth.

As part of the one-hour cabaret-style show, eight Canberrans who responded to Goldstein’s call-out will present their response to his question: “Who has power over you and what do you want to say to them?”

Goldstein, the creator of This Is Who I Am and founder and director of London Artists Projects, will frame the Canberra content with his personal account of his struggle to overcome HIV, drug addiction and the influence of his father.

Truth to Power has been staged with more than 800 participants, many of them theatrical novices, in England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Croatia, Australia and the US, where its premiere at the Lincoln Center was described as “a stunning work of theatrical activism”.

In part a non-violent means of conflict resolution, it was inspired by the beliefs of playwright Harold Pinter and his inner circle, The Hackney Gang, of which Goldstein’s father, Mick, was a member.

“Speaking truth to power,” he says, “is widely accepted to mean saying something to those in a position of trust or authority who don’t want to hear it.”

Election Night Special: Truth to Power Café, Tuggeranong Arts Centre, May 3. Pay what you can but bookings essential at tuggeranongarts.com