“Danger and Solidarity”

A KURINGA Forum Theatre production

Topic

“Danger and Solidarity” proposes an aesthetic discussion on the current popularity of right-wing populists in Europe. The theatre production investigates their ability to propagate “easy solutions”, combining old rude and blunt nationalism with sophisticated technology of public communication to convince people who feel fear and frustration in today’s societies. Some of the right-wing populist strategies of catching and transforming fears are analyzed on stage: the fear of losing the job into the fear of new immigrant colleagues, the fear of losing the flat into the fear of new neighbors, the fear of losing understanding and connection into the fear of new cultures and people and the fear of future into the fear of diversity. We work furthermore on the strategies of catching and transforming well-known feminist and left-wing slogans into conservative statements feeding sexism and patriarchal models of family.

Aesthetic Process

Could values of solidarity connect us stronger than hate, greed and the struggle for individual attention, recognition & power? Can solidarity be combined with hate? How a “solidarity of hate” would look like? Why misogyny is so effective as a central element of right-wing proposals? Which kind of strategies we need to learn to reveal the hidden reality behind the fake news? Which kind of Aesthetics could enable dialogue in a context of polarization? How to avoid to only react to the constant requests of the right-wing and conservative agenda?

Questions were the initial impulse for the creative process developed with international artists-activists during the KURINGA Forum Theatre Festival “Aesthetics of Solidarity”. The group investigated diverse aesthetic elements – images/movements, words/texts, sounds/rhythms – which compose the right-wing propaganda to understand their tricks, strategies and aims.

Artistic Result

Using image theatre, sound/rhythm and choreographic exercises, and collective composition of poems, slogans and sonorous sequences, the cast built up a very interesting theatre piece composed by metaphorical representations with concrete references to enable the analysis of the situation’s complexity in connection with daily life events. The play values the artistic perspective, the structural approach and the possibility of a concrete discussion.

Theatre Dialogue

After the presentation, in a Forum session, the audience is invited to build small groups for exchange ideas on what could be a meaningful attempt to strengthen the oppressed protagonists in the conflicts. The spect-actors are encouraged to come together to act collectively experiencing common strategies, taking into account the complexity of the staged problem. Each one is stimulated to consider their real social position and condition (social class, gender, race, profession, etc) to intervene. The dialogue is developed through collective interventions aiming at an analysis of the social context and an exchange of ideas about the possibility of concrete alternatives.