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Radical Democratic Theatre
No full textThe aim of this article is to interrogate the emergence of a form of participatory theatre that I shall call ‘radical democratic theatre’. The term ‘radical democracy’ derives in the first instance from the political theory of Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, but in terms of its application to theatre and performance practices, it might well be drawn in relation to Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Consequently, one useful starting point in grasping what is at stake when speaking of a radical democratic theatre is to trace the limits of Boalian thought by revisiting some of the theoretical assumptions upon which it stands. Two fundamental assumptions of specific concern have to do with (1) the nature of the theatre ‘subject’, as conceived by Boal, and (2) its relation to the political task of emancipation. Boal expresses this task in the following terms: ‘In order to understand the poetics of the oppressed one must keep in mind its main objective: to change the people – “spectators,” passive beings in the theatrical phenomenon – into subjects, into actors, transformers of the dramatic action’ (Boal, 2000: 122). To begin to approach the limits of this task, and probe what is implicated in its basic presuppositions, I want to focus on what will emerge as a significant theoretical difference over the way in which we might understand the nature and ambition of the strategy of ‘transformation’ – specifically, by drawing a distinction between the underlying aims of the Theatre of the Oppressed and the project of radical democratic theatre, as it might be conceived today. While Boal thinks the emancipatory potential of theatre predominantly in terms of freedom from oppression, by contrast, I will argue that the fundamental strategic aim of radical democratic theatre is not ‘liberation’ per se, but the destabilisation of the relational space in which political identities are first configured. Radical democratic theatre cannot ‘liberate’ anyone but it can destabilise the matrices of a given political distribution and in particular release thereby what politics has suppressed – first, antagonism and dissent, and second, forms of reciprocal action and empathic identification on which new forms of sociality might be based. The shift in perspective marked here can be thought as a move away from the classical focus of the left on emancipation from oppression to the problem of what Iris Marion Young calls ‘domination’, which suppresses, not freedom, but rather equality at the level of political engagement. Domination, she tells us, ‘consists in institutional conditions which inhibit or prevent people from participating in determining their actions or the conditions of their actions’ (Young, 1990: 38).
Placing the emphasis on equality, rather than freedom, by no means entails the denial of oppression. Rather, it signals the attempt to think emancipation beyond the classical rhetoric of revolutionary praxis. I will describe the possibility for this kind of strategic intervention, with reference to Michel Foucault, as necessitating, instead, the practice of the arraignment of power. It is this kind of idea that Randy Martin has in mind when, defending Boal’s legislative theatre from its critics, he describes how Boal was able to awaken a recalcitrant public to a consciousness of itself as the primal scene of the political, in which the ‘law can be interrupted, reversed, challenged’ (Martin 2006: 28). It is also, however, precisely here, where oppositional politics encounters the law, that the limits of this form of participatory theatre are disclosed. This is because it is precisely at the point where opposition moves from resistance to direct engagement with the structures and institutions of power that the democratic moment is most at risk of assimilation and co-option by the forces of the status quo. The
reasons for this are complex and unnerving – as Laclau and Mouffe have demonstrated through their astute critique of 20th century Marxism: ‘[there is] no subject’ they write, ‘which is absolutely radical and irrecuperable by the dominant order, and which constitutes an absolutely guaranteed point of departure for a total transformation’ (Laclau and Mouffe 2001: 169). I shall call this profound instability, which is constitutive of political identities, the ‘democratic limitation’. The democratic limitation refers to both the inherent volatility of political identities and to the impossibility of reconciling those social antagonisms, constitutive of the political field, according to a universal political settlement. Through this concept we will be able to discern, not just what makes radical democratic theatre and performance possible; we will also be able to specify in what sense it can be called radical insofar as it reveals the precariousness of every essentialist political discourse
SOLD
No full textThis extraordinary and moving piece of original theatre tells the true stories of modern day slaves and their traffickers. Two hundred years since the abolition of the trans-Atlantic space trade, virtually every country in the world is affected by trafficking.
'Sold' is based on original interviews conducted this year and has been created by the company of actors and designers under the direction of Complicite Associate, Catherine Alexander, who created 'The Boy from Centreville' performed at Edinburgh Fringe in 2008.
CAST - BA (HONS) ACTING COLLABORATIVE AND DEVISED THEATRE
Fisayo Akinade - Gbenga
Nadia Balfe - Gina/Mara
Jordan Dawes - Danny/Luan Palkici
Laura Dewey - Denise Marshall/Natalia
Nicholas Hart - Jack
Sara Hirsch - Claudia Schmidt
Peter Hobday - Krisjãnis
Magnus McCullagh - Iain/Alex
Elizabeth Menabney - Anna Puzova/Police Officer
John Montegrande - James/Andreas
Peter Randall - Anthony Steen
Cherrelle Skeete - Oliviette/Adjo
Sarah Vevers - Christina Caine
Paula Videniece - Aija
Rhiannon Wallace - Carys
Miles Yekinni - Tayo/Leo
PRODUCTION TEAM - BA (HONS) THEATRE PRACTICE STUDENTS
Sarah Beaton - Set and Costume Design
Samantha Buckmaster - Costume Supervisor
Gareth Wide - Lighting Design/Programmer
Douglas Green - Video/Projection Design
Peter Malkin - Sound Design
James Nicholson - Sound Design
Tal Landsman - Production Manager
Elliot Bennet - Technical Manager
Nikita Wolski - Stage Manager
Sally Inch - Deputy Stage Manager
Ellie Phillips - Assistant Stage Manager
Sam Jeffs - Chief Electrician
Kieran O'Brien - Media Production/Programmer
CREATIVE TEAM
Catherine Alexander - Director
Andrew London - Assistant Director
Max Mackintosh - Assistant Director
Tara McAllister-Viel - Vocal Support
Marina Tyndall - Accent Coach
CHARACTER BIOGRAPHIES AND SOURCES
Luan & Natalia
Luan Plakici is an Albanian immigrant who was convicted of human trafficking in 2002. He was the first person to be tried under the new UK human trafficking laws and sentenced to 24 years in prison. Scenes are based on media reports about Luan and interviews with Denise Marshall.
Danny & James
In the north of England forced labour is a consistent underlying problem. These characters are based on original interviews with two Mancunians who have a connection with this issue. They have asked to remain anonymous.
Tayo & Gbenga
This storyline is based on accounts of boys and young men trafficked to the Ivory Coast to be used as forced labour. Taken from their homes in places such as Nigeria and Mali, these boys work on cocoa and sugar plantations. Much of the chocolate on sale in this country has links to slave about in Africa. The starting point for this storyline is the YouTube video: 'Chocolate, not so sweet after all'. (www.fairtrade.org.uk)
Anthony Steen
Anthony was a Conservative MP for Totnes. He is the chairman of The Human Trafficking Foundation and has been instrumental in raising UK governmental awareness of human trafficking. Character is based on original interviews with Anthony Steen. (www.allpartygrouphumantrafficking.org)
Denise Marshall
Denise is the director os Eaves and The Poppy Project: these organisations campaign for the freedom and rights of trafficked women. Character is based on original interviews with Denise Marshall. (www.eaves4women.co.uk)
Jack & Carys
One of the more sophisticated forms of coercion is the 'Loverboy'. A 'Loverboy' lures young girls into boyfriend/girlfriend relationships before cutting them off from family and friends and trafficking them from one town to another. (www.mydangerousloverboy.com)
Aija & Krisjãnis
These young Latvians came to the UK on legal passports with the promise of legitimate work and found themselves the victims of human trafficking. Storyline based on original interviews with sources who wish to remain anonymous.
Oliviette
Many people trafficked to the UK are enslaved as domestic servants in private homes. Some start as servants in their home countries, but when they are illegally transported to other countries to continue working they find themselves trapped. Storyline based on several sources which have been fictionalised. - 'Enslaved: The New British Slavery' by Ramila Gupta
Anna Puzova
Anna Puzova was the first woman in the UK to be convicted of child trafficking. As a mother with eight children named on her passport, she was easily able to traffic children from Italy to UK. Scenes are fictionalised based upon interviews with Superintendent Bernie Gravett, Metropolitan Police.
Christine Caine
Christine is a Christian leader from Sydney, Australia. She is actively involved in supporting victims of human trafficking through the A21 campaign. This character is created using verbatim text from Christine's YouTube videos. (www.thea21campaign.org)
Andreas
Andreas is a Greek immigrant who has integrated himself into the criminal underworld of Soho. The character is based on encounters with a source whose anonymity we wish to protect.
Mara
Mara is a Latvian masseuse whose career has been ruined following an accident. She awoke with amnesia and injuries which, she believes, resulted from being sold for sex whilst unconscious. Story based on original interviews with Mara Vaitkuse.
Other Sources
* UN Office on drugs and crime: www.undoc.org
* US Trafficking in Persons' Report: www.state.gov
* The Bible, Leviticus 25:44
* The Koran, The Believers 23:1
* London School of Hygiene and Medicine
* Stop Trafficking Now: www.sctnow.org
* 'Designing Trafficking Research From a Labour Market Perspective', by Beate Andrees and Mariska N. J. Van Der Linden
* 'Stop the Traffic: People Shouldn't Be Bought and Sold', by Steve Chalk
Theatre Applications Conference
No full textTheatre Applications was a conference organised by Central School of Speech & Drama, held on the 21 – 23 April 2010. The conference convenors were Sally Mackey and Amanda Stuart Fisher.
Theatre Applications concerns the uses and purposes of theatre and performance in education, community, therapeutic and institutional settings. It addresses applied, social and community theatre, and forms of performance that are intended to make a difference to participants’ lives.
Theatre Applications provides scholars, practitioners, participants and funders with an opportunity to engage in debates about changing artistic practices, new circulations of power and new concepts of the political in theatre
Complicite - The Elephant Vanishes (2003/4) - 'The Elephant and Keeper Have Vanished Completely...They Will Never Be Coming Back'
No full textI have spent much of my working life in the intense environment of Complicite rehearsals and workshops but I still find it nearly impossible to reconstruct the development of each show. The nature of any creative process is that you constantly make and discard: the act of forgetting is as important as that of remembering. As soon as a day, week or month of rehearsal is over, the memory of the process vanishes and you only take forward the vital elements for the performance. Simon McBurney has written about his work over the years but frequently in retrospect where the process can be remembered in a seamless way. For this chapter on 'The Elephant Vanishes' I have returned to my copious notes and rehearsal diaries in an attempt to reflect the creative chaos of the day-to-day work and describe the shape of the creative process from within
Mapping Intermediality in Performance
No full textThis volume examines afresh the impact upon acting and performance of digital technologies. It is concerned with how digital culture combines the traditional ‘liveness’ of theatre with media interfaces and internet protocols. The time and space of the ‘here and now’ are both challenged and adapted, just as barriers between theatre-makers and the ‘experiencers’ of events are broken down. Today many of us are everyday players performing the interconnectedness of digital culture and a key aim of the book is to unpack the multiple interrelations within the landscape of contemporary performance. Access to a range of ‘instances’ (The Builders Association, Castellucci, Castorf, Gob Squad, Lepage, Second Life and VJing) is through ‘portals’ which afford perspectives on the main characteristics of theatre and performance in the digital age
The Gypsy Bible
No full textBy Joe Townsend and Alasdair Middleton. Directed by Catherine Alexander
Making a violin isn’t easy: it takes 400 years of love, murder and the devil’s whim. Weaving together tales from across Europe, this new folk opera is told through wild gypsy rhythms and a kaleidoscopic array of virtuosic playing. Whether made from the bones of a young woman’s body or the strange alchemy of the violin-maker’s craft, the old magic and wanton science surrounding the fiddle are brought to life in story and song. With music by Joe Townsend and words by Alasdair Middleton (The Adventures of Pinocchio, The Enchanted Pig)
Theatre Applications: Theatre with a Purpose
No full textReview of the Theatre Applications Conference held at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, from 21-23 April 2010
The Craig Lecture 2010: Design in the Fourth Dimension
No full textCSSD’s Craig Lecture, now in its second year, is given in honour of leading 20th Century Modernist Edward Gordon Craig, author of The Art of Theatre, and director of Stanislavski’s epoch-defining production of Hamlet. This year’s speaker, Christopher Oram, explores what technology and interactivity can bring to theatre, and how theatre, not film, should be leading the way.
This event took place at Central School of Speech & Drama on 5 July 2010, and was presented in association with the Society for Theatre Research
From Grounded Foot to Leaping Foot: Practice and Pedagogy Forum
No full textA sharing and demonstration of research by Central School of Speech & Drama Senior Lecturer, Debbie Green, and Academy of Live and Recorded Arts Movement Tutor/Director, Ita O’Brien, into the development of the leaping foot from the grounded foot. The focus of their exploration is on the actor’s experience of being grounded to her/his experience of lightness through elevation from an anatomical awareness of the feet and the mechanism of leaping. They discuss various disciplines of movement that foreground working the feet and encourage a mindful approach to the use of the feet in a progressive practice
The Christmas Pantomime
No full textThis round table discussion explored the form and tradition of Christmas pantomime from the perspectives of the director and the designer. Participants included Keith Orton (Central) and director Joyce Branagh, collaborators on Christmas pantomime at the Watford Palace Theatre between 2005 and 2008