Tuesday 13th February – Activism Protest Censorship

DISCUSSION AT BEGINNING OF SESSION ABOUT THOUGHTS OF RESPONSABILITY OF BEING AN ARTIST:

• You have to mean it.
• We must attempt to provoke thought.
• Offer a range of thoughts.
• Awareness of diversity of experience.
• Conveying messages that everyone can connect with.
• Provoking empathy.
• Not enforcing ideas.
• No assumptions… do your research.
• Steer away from unproductive offence.
• Know and think about your audience.

‘ALL THAT IS BANNED IS DESIRED’ – A World Conference on Artistic Freedom of Expression, 2012.

THOUGHTS ON QUOTE:

• If you tell people no, they want to do something more.
• Telling someone they can’t do something, makes them want to do something more.
• Human need to explore the what ifs?
• What is desired is banned?

STYLES OF POLITICAL THEATRE, WITH EXAMPLES:

• REALISM – “Realism looks at real life, but it’s more than that: what you see is typical and tells you something about society in totality” – Hungarian Marxist philosopher George Lukacs 1885-1971
• EPIC THEATRE – “The realistic portrayal of realistic characters, each scene has a message, the play is full of devices designed to make you get the message, and not emotionally identify with the characters and get caught up in the story: the so called “alienation effect” – Marxist playwright and director Bertolt Brecht, 1898-1956
• DOCUMENTARY THEATRE – Not realistic nor fictional characters. The work created is based on material from documentary’s such as transcripts and interviews with actors portraying real people.
• AGIT-PROP THEATRE – “Plays with the clear and immediate message, often satirical; characters are not represented literally but through stereotypes; parody of popular entertainment forms” – Underground theatre UK/USA 1968-1975
• PARODY PLAYS – The whole show is a parody of particular work/ form.
• SATIRE PLAYS – “Plays with real or fictional characters, but exaggerated and often placed in farcical or parodic situations to expose political truths” – Italian writer and performer Dario Fo, 1926-2016, Alistair Beaton 1947

WHY WE THINK PEOPLE VISIT THE THEATRE

• Representation
• Entertainment
• Distraction
• Life Time Experience
• Happiness
• Free from reality
• Accessibility
• Memories
• Can be Cheap

TOPICS WE SAID THEATRE MAKERS COULD SPEAK ABOUT:

• Domestic Abuse
• Crime
• Inclusivity
• Representation (gender, race etc)
• Race and Religion
• Social/Political progress
• Social/Political issues
• Identity
• Strong Opinions
• Individual/personal experiences that strike universally
• Politics change

THINGS WE THINK WE WOULD BE NERVOUS ABOUT ON STAGE:

• Saying the wrong things.
• Don’t want to upset people but constantly agree – unsure what to say.
• Should be free to express opinions/beliefs.
• Nerves.
• Division within communities – don’t feel comfortable doing things if your from a different background (e.g. race, religion, beliefs etc.) Don’t want to affect/offend people.

Bezhti & Behud Timeline:

• Behtzi means dishonour.
• Written in 2003 by Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti and she wanted to write about her experiences of being a carer.
• Birmingham Repertory Theatre picked the play up a year later (2004) and goes into production.
• It is about “hypocrisy and the pressures of being part of a community, a tale about what’s underneath the British Asian dream.”
• When in pre-production, the REP invited members of the local Sikh community to discuss the play’s contents, a week before the show previewed roughly.
• During the dialogue between the community and the REP, the Sikh community asked that some content of the play is changed so it is set in a community centre, not a Gurdwara, but Bhatti and the REP declined.
• In December 2004, Bezhti opened its world premier in The Door, Birmingham REP. Peaceful protests did take place outside the theatre on most nights of the run.
• On a Saturday performance night, the demonstrations against Bezhti became violent. On the Monday after, the REP decided to cancel the rest of the show.
• Following on from the demonstration events, Bhatti received death threats. She went into hiding and was assigned police officers for protection, CCTV was installed at her house and railings placed over her windows.
• She began to write a new play called Behud.
• Coventry Belgrade and Soho Theatre go into co-production to make Behud which is a play about censorship and fictionalises the events around Bezhti, and the experiences Bhatti faced.
• They didn’t want to repeat the errors of the REP and so decided against entering into discussion about the play.
• There was anticipation of high audiences about Behud. After back and forth arguments, the policing provided for the show was not charged for.
• 2010 – Behud opened at the Belgrade on Sikh New Year. Low audience numbers and no protests and incidents.
• 2005 – Bezhti won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.

PLAYS THAT HAVE CAUSED CONTROVERSY:

• Behzti
• A Streetcar Named Desire
• Angels In America
• Bent
• Blasted