Home is where the heart is: building, belonging and emotional engagement in anti-austerity performance
Hillman, RA
Date: 6 February 2020
Journal
Studies in Theatre and Performance
Publisher
Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Publisher DOI
Abstract
In 2011, Reading-based theatre collective In Good Company devised an anti-austerity
play called The Pact. The collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market as the backdrop
of the 2007/8 financial crisis, and the impact on UK housing and homelessness of
early policies of the coalition government, meant that themes of home circulated in ...
In 2011, Reading-based theatre collective In Good Company devised an anti-austerity
play called The Pact. The collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market as the backdrop
of the 2007/8 financial crisis, and the impact on UK housing and homelessness of
early policies of the coalition government, meant that themes of home circulated in the
performance. Home also functioned in less literal ways in a production designed to
agitate by voicing local dissent, and which attempted to build an activist network
through rehearsals that were open to the public. Drawing on community organising
theory, the article proposes that rehearsals provide a suitable home for political
organising, where collaborators deconstruct and imagine worlds anew as they strive
towards a common goal. It also acknowledges our emotional connection with home,
and argues that strong feelings triggered by scenes in The Pact were integral to
audience members’ awareness of themselves in society, and that critical and emotional
engagements offer a potent combination in activist theatre. As local councils across
the UK face bankruptcy, and The Pact’s alarming forecast looks conservative against
impacts of social-spending cuts and accelerated privatisation in 2018, it is important to
scrutinise effective activist practice to inform further activity.
Drama
Collections of Former Colleges
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