Right now in New York ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protesters are camped out in Zuccotti Park in the heart of NYC financial district. Their protest has grown over the last six weeks to become a small but significant nationwide movement with copycat ‘Occupations’ across more than 160 American towns and cities. Their simple message is that for too long the lives of the 99% majority have been ruled, controlled and oppressed by the influence and power of the 1% super rich. It is a message which resonates across the whole of our capital dominated world.
Though protesters may well be forced out of Zuccotti Park by the end of the week, it is likely their movement will continue to grow; particularly as it is now receiving the oxygen of mainstream media publicity.
The ‘Occupy’ movement appears to be just the latest in an increasing tide of citizen-organised political actions worldwide. Standing outside conventional political structures these movements, started on twitter/facebook, and then eventually re-broadcast on the mainstream media, are setting an agenda that leaves political parties and pundits far behind. Their actions, often quirky and theatrical in nature, are reinventing protest for a new generation of the previously politically un-engaged. Though organised, sustained and promoted through online networks they are resulting in physical acts of communion; people coming together to bare witness and speak as one.
In the blogs there is talk of 1968; of a new civil rights movement; of a world citizenship finding its voice. Much of this is usual hubris of the old voices of the Left but there is also something young and new moving in the body politic. Something different. Though protest in itself never created a job, or lifted someone out of poverty, it can influence the public conversation of a country. Change the conversation enough and you can effect the culture, alter the culture and you start to change lives.
I run a small theatre company. We have little money and no great resources, but we have been around for four years and are still here so, to a certain extent, I have a small platform.
What is my responsibly? Is the political space one in which it is wise or appropriate for me to comment? I’ll give you and example; when the row broke over the Liberal Democrats student tuition fees betrayal I used Iris Theatre’s Facebook and twitter feeds to send out links to blogs and petitions like 38degrees. I was surprised to get some people respond to this by asking why we were getting involved; why was a theatre company tweeting about politics? Why indeed? We don’t do overtly political work (A Midsummer Nights Dream is hardly agitprop).
I suppose I just felt a strong sense of personal connection with the issue and so used every channel I had to add my voice to the public conversation. But should I have used Iris to do that? Should I do more of this? or less? Should Iris Theatre do more? Or should a theatre company ‘just stay out of it’?
If theatre is there to hold ’a mirror up to nature’ should it hold a mirror up to society too?
The problem of bringing politics to theatre is not just that you can alienate certain members of your audience, but also, of course, that political theatre too often equals bad theatre. It’s earnest, dull, overly worthy, and there’s not a decent song in there.
If we want to make new political theatre is it possible it can also:
a) entertain?
b) not just preach to the choir?
c) be complex and three dimensional rather than cartoonish, with ‘demon bankers’ and ‘oppressed workers’?
d) be a conversation rather than state any one solution?
e) above all else, be truly dramatic?
With a new model of political engagement evolving and emerging from the seedbed of social media what is the new model for a political theatre to grow alongside it? What would fathers Brecht, Miller or Boal do with this new landscape? How can we use the momentum and passion of a new generation awakening to their political voice to create a new radical political theatre? A theatre that is funny, hip and engaged;entertaining as well as uplifting?
We as theatre makers of whatever background; fringe, commercial or subsidised, are also citizens. As citizens, just like everyone else, we have a right, and a duty, to engage in this once in a lifetime worldwide debate.
No show ever started a revolution. Theatre doesn’t change the world. But then no one citizen changes the world either. Change only comes from collective action, from the bringing together of people in service of a common goal. Can UK theatre help to catalyse that communion? What can we do to encourage our own citizen-based reOccupation of our political space?
