Sunday 20 March 2011

March for the alternative

On Friday we went to see Theatre Uncut.

Playwrights like Dennis Kelly (who wrote Pulling) and Mark Ravenshill donated their work rights-free and the actors & directors all gave up their time for free, to make short plays about the cuts. They made the scripts available for free online for theatre groups and anyone else who wanted to put the plays on, as a way of encouraging debate & action around the cuts.

It was in the Southwark Playhouse, little theatre deep under the railway arches, freezing cold with trains rumbling overhead, sitting on hard folding chairs... classic fringe theatre.

But it was all stirring stuff, brilliantly written & acted. Especially Syrus Lowe in David Greig's play Fragile (the audience said the lines of the character's mental health worker, projected onto the back wall, which made it funny and brought the point home, that people are going to be fucked when their services are taken away. He decides to set fire to himself in protest and his mental health worker talks him down - she promises to start a campaign, and a march.) You know my problems with writing criticism anyway, you can read Lyn Gardners' review here.

The main point we took from it though is that resistance is NOT useless. And if you don't like what's happening, you can do something about it, something between total apathy and setting fire to yourself in protest.

Join us on the March for the Alternative! Get out on the streets and make some noise! (The wonderful UK Uncut will also be holding actions on the same day.)

4 comments:

  1. Will also be going to a party with the theme of Never Never Land later on. Debating whether to go on the march dressed like Captain Hook, Tinkerbell, a lost boy or the crocodile.

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  2. I didn't tell you - loads of protests already started at Goldsmiths this morning. Teachers, students, looked like fun actually.

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  3. Good good Sar. They are good at holding actions - you want to get in there with the beardy boys!

    Poor students. Imagine coming out of college with £70,000 worth of debt.

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