Small World Theatre & Policy Makers in the UK

Wales Assembly Government, Houses of Parliament and Local Councils

Small World Theatre with the support of Cardiff 2005 appeared at the National Assembly of Wales on June 20th 2005 with their performance Diogel?/Safe?

The performance was to an invited school class and also present were policy makers who went on to develop policy for Wales concerning refugee issues after the show.

We were very pleased that the event was introduced By Edwina Hart (Justice)

(pictured above with some audience members)

Just over a month later Small World Theatre and Sue Lyle from the Swansea Institute presented details of the Diogel/?Safe? project to a an all party group of Welsh MP's at the Houses of Parliament on June 29th 2005.

here is a link to the Diogel?/Safe? page

Ann, Sue, Bill and the puppet Tamba on the roof of the Houses of Parliament

Bill, Julie Morgan MP and Ann Introduce Tamba and Sian to the all party group of MP's

Prior to our presentation Small World Theatre's work had been noticed by MP's in the Houses of Parliament and on the 26th of January 2005 the following exchange took place on the floor of the House of Commons

Julie Morgan (Cardiff, North) (Lab): "Is my right hon. Friend aware that
as part of Cardiff 2005, the Small World Theatre is going to primary
schools and secondary schools in Cardiff, particularly the Gabalfa
primary school and Corpus Christi school in Cardiff, North, helping to
promote understanding of what it feels like to be a refugee or an asylum
seeker in Cardiff today? Does my right hon. Friend agree that this is a
positive thing to do in the year when Cardiff celebrates 50 years as a
capital? What other things can he suggest to increase tolerance and
understanding of the diverse communities that we have in Cardiff?"
Mr. Hain: "I agree with my hon. Friend that Cardiff is a living symbol of
a culture that is rich with diversity, different ethnic groups and
different faiths. It is a city that is thriving and learning from the
different communities that exist together in a dynamic way."

Recently Small World Theatre carried out a series of workshops leading to a forum theatre presentation in the The Princess Royal Theatre Port Talbot. This work also informed local Government and social services Here is a link within our web site to the carers project

The Carers Project

Legislative Theatre for the National Assembly

Update !!!!!!

Theatr FForwm Cymru have been working with legislative theatre and the Assembly with a project called AGORA

Here is a link to their web site

Theatr Fforwm Cymru

Why not use theatre in the National Assembly of Wales


Theatre is at the centre of most cultural debates whether in the form of stage play, film screen, TV soap, TV advert. and even within news presentation . Theatre and drama are played out every time a magistrates court is convened. Lawyers , barristers, wigs , costume, the police and the defendants make up the cast list in true life dramas, but the power of theatre to inform and advocate is rarely seen to effect the laws of the land or the governance of the people.

Exceptions to this rule do exist there are examples as with the work of Augusto Boal in Brazil where once elected to his regional government he was instrumental in introducing 13 new laws derived from the people who were to benefit from their introduction.

These people were marginalised by that society and their only chance to lobby was with performances generated through theatre workshops designed for a governmental and legislature audience.

Boal's theatre process gave the people a voice and a lobbying point, creating a forum for discussion. The legislative process is informed and any new laws or decisions can take on board fine detail derived from the very graphic content of the forum performance.

If theatre as a lobbying tool were to be applied to the Welsh Assembly it could engender a real public interest in the political life of Wales.


Legislative Theatre for the people Now!


Although the process of Boal's "Theatre of the oppressed" should not be applied wholesale to Wales"s new democracy, embodied in the Assembly, a specific Welsh generated process of accessing the voice of the various communities of the Principality and their differing needs would meet any requirements for a consultative, open approach. The Senedd building has been lauded as a transparent and open structure that mirrors the process of Welsh governance. This forum Theatre process would butress the rhetoric with true participation.

Here in Wales we would be drawing on people experienced in theatrical presentation from within the culture and from international expertise. Disseminating information and running practical workshops in the process of lobbying via the use of drama techniques a viable programme of action could be developed. Partners in the Arts , social services , education and administration would be needed to develop the pattern of the work but it is felt that the initial catalyst should be from the theatre based community. At this stage sources of phased funding should be identified and commitments to furthering the process be sought. As so many sections of the electorate would be represented there could be financial and in kind, contributions from a wide range of sources.

Identifiable groups
Identifiable groups, individuals and industries like tourism, farming, manufacture, the voluntary sector, the arts, civic trusts, chambers of trade and the myriad of lobbying groups with concerns from health to the environment. I have a particular interest in human rights which could be a good starting point, common ground, a discussion forum for traditionally opposing camps where points of view could transform to consensus. Looking inward on society in Wales and outward to Wales' place in the world.

Through a series of workshops and pilot projects using Small World Theatres' skills and those of other theatre practitioners with experience and special training in this sort of approach it is felt that the complex issues that relate to the legislative nature of the new Assembly could be discussed and presented from various viewpoints, creating opportunities for a vital exchange from community to Assembly members and visa versa.

Small World Theatre / Theatr Byd Bychan have for almost 20 years explored and developed methods of creating theatre that addresses issues and that raises consciousness, tangibly effecting the quality of peoples lives. They are one of Britain's' only companies whose work has been scrutinised and evaluated to try to see how theatre can directly effect peoples lives. In Wales and UK the majority of SWT's work has been for young audiences but in Asia and Africa the projects they have worked on have been with whole communities.

The dramatic process is a dynamic way of establishing rapport , information flow, and understanding. It establishes a creative and separate forum where complex or contentious issues can be examined and played out thus exploring theoretical ramifications and effects of aspects of policy and law. For example a group of pensioners presenting a short piece about the choices they have to make between food and heating in the winter and the impact that choice has in their daily lives, would evoke an emotional response not always present in intellectual debate.

This is as useful for assembly members as it is for the public and interested groups. Having the ability to test policy like this has the potential to save huge amounts of money by helping to get the public projects, policies and laws right in the first instance. Consulting the public, civic society groups and sections of industry at the outset of decision making is a creative and innovative way of introducing a new democracy for a new Welsh Assembly.

This approach could represent a major contribution to open and transparent governance of the people of Wales by the people of Wales . Not all of the subjects and motions would be passed into law but enhanced and truly informed decisions could be seen to be made.

Who knows ? the future of Wales could be discussed and debated from the Eisteddfod field or the school hall to the pensioner group or the youth club. This is a more equitable way for citizens to access the halls of power than via the professional lobbying company. It also may prove to be an innovative model for the millennium world wide

One of the main perceptions of the people of Wales by the non Celtic world is that Welsh people are artistic. Let us at last make this perception of creativity work for us in forging our own destiny together and individually. The vision of the future is too precious to leave to the responsibility of the few.

As this is a first draft of an idea of one route towards self government it is hoped that you will try to give this some attention and respond with any thoughts on how to evolve the concept and move it closer to a reality.

Implementation

There needs to be a time and a space allocated in the Assembly building and it's schedule for legislative theatre

Now that the Senedd is complete it is time to allocate this legislative theatre space.
Theatre is accessible and stimulates debate. Issues can be seen heard and discussed in the heart of the assembly building. Digital technology could be available regionally for groups and individuals who may not wish to travel to Cardiff to present their piece. Access through universities, theatres, council offices and even voluntary agencies could increase regional uptake.Live video links, mobile phone blogs and other IT processes could be used. A sustainable process could be in place soon.

Implementing this project has huge pan Wales implications, social , political ,cultural, geographical and financial . The preparation of the participatory rural appraisals and the urban consultative forum process as well as the workshops needed to generate this individual, community and collective response is a lot of work and needs co operation from practitioners all over Wales.

Debates with the government and the Welsh office are crucial but the media must be informed in a clear and confident way so the opportunities to trivialise the project at this stage are minimalised. Obviously as this proposal represents a big vision with many opportunities for real change in Wales there may be some opposition , possibly even from artists, who may feel that peoples theatre is to be funded at the expense of " High Art " but if this is to work then all the expertise and experiences of the creative performance community will be required to apply high production values to this broad community based project.

It is hoped funding will be secured primarily from non arts sources. However at some point it will need the support of the Assembly Government and even if only tacit , from the arts council and other bodies like the lottery etc.( not until the Olympic Games are paid for though) but as the reason for it's existence is to lobby for funds , rights, laws, justice and statutes that effect all aspects of life.

I hope, possibly naively, that this unique access to government will eventually be seen by the people of Wales as a right not a novelty.

If you would like to respond or discuss this further please contact Bill Hamblett by E mail bill@smallworld.org.uk

Office Address : P.O. BOX 45 Cardigan, SA431WT

Tel / Fax 01239 615952

e mail info@smallworld.org.uk