In an upstairs hall
in Glasgow, the speakers are pumping out an infectious mix of African
dance music that proves irresistible to everyone there. Even though
no-one's met before this week, the multi-cultural mix of Sri Lankans,
Africans, Kurds, Scots and English people are on their feet, shaking
their booties for all they're worth. One young man, from Cameroon,
only arrived less than half an hour ago, but, encouraged by a quietly
enthusiastic Dutch woman, is now at the centre of things, showing
everyone how to dance to the rhythms of his country of origin with a
sassy mix of pride and elation.
What looks and
sounds like a microcosm of a global village may have the atmosphere
of an after-hours shebeen, but in actual fact, the scene described
above took place on a Wednesday afternoon in Govan at the end of a
day's rehearsal for a very special theatre project that took place
last weekend. The English and Scots are a mix of community workers
and performers. The Kurds, Sri Lankans and Africans are asylum
seekers, who've found sanctuary in Glasgow. The Dutch woman is Annet
Henneman, who, under her Teatro di Nascosto (Hidden Theatre) banner,
has taken her unique notion of theatre as reportage around the world.
Henneman is in
Scotland to perform Don’t Forget Us, an evening of songs and
stories gleaned from her experiences as part of Spirit Refugee Week
Scotland. She has also been in residence at the behest of Glasgow
Theatre and Arts Collective to devise a new piece of theatre
reportage which was performed at St Mungo Museum of Religious Life
last weekend.
In the Govan
rehearsals, this took the form of Henneman acting out the role of a
teacher in a self-styled ‘Refugee School’, in which pupils learn
skills such as how to barter for a passport, how to hide money inside
their own body and how to sleep upright in an enclosed space crammed
with other asylum seekers. All of these, it transpires, come from the
real-life experiences of some of the workshop participants.
“I want to tell
the stories of people who have no voice,” Henneman says, “so all
the stories come from the refugees. There is a very basic structure,
which I have used before. I’ve always used a kind of social theatre
working in prisons and other places, and this comes from when I was
very young, and couldn’t decide whether to become a journalist or
work in the theatre. Slowly I’ve learnt about what I mean by
theatre reportage, so what I’ve ended up doing is fusing both. To
do that I’ve had to change my own theatrical habits, and absorb and
learn from people as much as possible.”
While her approach
is political in terms of how it brings hidden stories out into the
open, Henneman says that it is not a form of activism.
“People make of it
what they will, and I can’t predict what will happen,” she says,
“and sometimes activists see it as activism. But I chose not be
against something, but for something. I want everyone from all
backgrounds to share in the experience that is created. When people
are humanised, they will be open to change.”
Henneman’s tenure
in Glasgow came about via a chance meeting with Glasgow Theatre Arts
Collective’s Carrie Newman during the 2011 Edinburgh Festival
Fringe. For Newman, Henneman’s experience working outwith the
theatrical mainstream was akin to her own interests in a way that
empowered rather than patronised her fellow travellers.
“I think Annett’s
work gives vulnerable people a really strong voice through theatre,
and helps them realise that they’re not on their own. You can see
that this week through these people who’ve come together for the
first time. The changes in these people in terms of confidence
between Monday and now is huge. Part of that comes as well from Annet
being sensitive to when people are ready to do something. She won’t
force or manipulate people into doing things they don’t want to.
Her first priority is the people.”
This is certainly
the case in Govan, which becomes a kind of creative safe-house where
people from different backgrounds can feel comfortable enough to
share their stories with strangers.
Later that night,
Henneman dons exotic robes to perform Don’t Forget Us at the Tron
Theatre. With all of her workshop participants in attendance and the
floor strewn with blown up photographs of friends she’s met on her
travels over the last fifteen years, she uses each to illustrate
songs and stories from Iraq, Palestine, Iran and other global
trouble-spots.
At the end, Henneman
invites all her charges onstage. Instinctively, they all link arms,
and they're dancing again the way they were earlier to the Kurdish
music. As an example of unity in action, as with everything that
happened in that hall in Govan, it's a wonder to behold.
The Herald, June 27th 2012
ends
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