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TO is Needed!
In the 1980s we said
that society had many problems, but was unable or unwilling to
face them. We created Forum and Image Theatre to try to convince
people and institutions to change. In the Netherlands moralism
used to be one of the most notable characteristics of society.
But the times were a-changing, and a postmodern society needs
not moralism, but moral values. The devaluation or even disappearance
of many so-called typically Dutch moral values like tolerance,
pluralism and peacefulness during the past decade has shaken the
foundations of the country. Racism, discrimination and violence
arose unexpected and have created a situation in which the cops-in-the-head
are winning ground.
A Wide Range of Contacts
We have started a dialogue with many organisations, independent
and state imbedded, and even with organisations of free enterprise,
to establish common goals and mutual support. Currently the contacts
range from prison workers to anti-discrimination agencies and
peace groups, from youth social work and schools to Dutch Rail.
We are also discussing a project with political and civil war
refugees. The purpose of this dialogue is to develop Forum Theatre,
accompanied by workshops and eventually with the possibility of
employing Legislative Theatre. We regard each of our contacts
as a community within a specific field of work. In the future
we see the possibility of connecting those communities and form
Chambers in the Square.
General Interest
The reactions we have become so far have been very positive. The
perspective of people developing into spect-actors by means of
theatre is considered to be a breakthrough in many areas. As Formaat
started playing the current production "Veni, vidi, vici"
(I came, I saw, I conquered), directed against racism and discrimination
at secondary schools, many people were sceptical about the fact
if pupils of "lower" levels of education would get the
point. The shattering result of a survey on five performances
showed that in fact the students with "higher" levels
did not get the point. They seemed to have too many cops in the
head. These results have been presented in various contexts and
are beginning to show their impact. An existing group discussion
project on the question of moral dilemmas, which is currently
a hot issue in the Netherlands, has recognised the importance
of activating especially young people on this subject. Formaat
has recently been asked to develop a Forum production to fill
the gap between talk and action.
Scientific Evaluation
For us as "insiders" these conclusions sound very logical.
But in the mainstream politics and science, these outcomes are
quite revolutionary. That is why we do very much support the idea
of constructing scientific evaluation schemes to underline the
effects of TO in any kind of context. It may be that the general
outcome of survey will confirm the "danger" of TO activity
for the status quo. In fact, metaxis occurred after we played
"Veni, vidi, vici" last year at a school in Leiden,
and a black pupil later filed a discrimination complaint against
his school after being suspended. This year the city of Leiden
again enabled schools to program the production at a very low
cost. The aforementioned school said they were not interested.
On the other hand, it is good to see that local
governments are programming TO as a part of their political means,
thus recognising the way it works. We will continue to work together
with the city of Leiden and with a number of projects there.
Under Pressure 0, October 1999
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