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Going Public
“Some people argue that all theatre is public. The premise of Going Public is that most theatre is private and that in order to create a more public theatre we need to open out the debate and confront the difficulties facing us”
A diverse range of artists and companies presented performed and performative contributions to the debate surrounding theatre and the bridge between writers and audiences.
Curated by Lisa Goldman and produced by The Red Room
More: http://www.theredroom.org.uk/GoingPublic.htm
Are we the watchers – or are we being watched?
We are continually watched, live, by audiences that are smaller than the number of performers, but do we notice or care? CCTV is reality tv taken to its logical conclusion, omnipresent, unnoticed, always on…
Context Theatre presented the results of a comically performed but genuinely meant survey which examined the views of those who responded to questioning about their views on theatre on Kilburn High Street or inside the Tricycle Theatre, in the presence of CCTV cameras.
Context Theatre were interviewed live on stage in front of projected footage from the CCTV cameras, by Frog Stone, who then auctioned the respondents (as potential members of an audience) to the survey to the theatre-people audience of Going Public.
Some survey results…
AGE: 50% between ages of 31-90, 37% 19-30, 22% 0-18.
SEX: 22% were male, 50% female, 7% thought they were female, 7% female the last time they looked, 7% 50% male/50% female, 7% ‘other’
ETHNIC PROFILES: 7% British Asian/ British Muslim, 7% Scottish, 7% Pakistani, 7% 50% Irish/ 50% New Zealander, 7% Nigerian, 7% Afro Caribbean, 7% White English, 7% White Other, 7% White European whatever and 7% didn’t know.
ACCOMODATION: 7% lived with parents, 7% siblings, 22% with lovers, 14& wives and husbands, 7% friends, 7% students, 7% laptop computers, 43% alone.
DEMOGRAPHICS: 85% local inhabitants, 14% not.
POLITICS: 14% anti immigration, 14% members of local clubs, 7% might be a member of a local club, 7% had freedom of spirit, 7% salsa-tango, 7% not racist put it that way, 7% Normal and 50% had no view.
CULTURE: 29% preferred radio 4, 34% Opera, 34% Ballet, 7% laughed and didn’t know
LIFESTYLE: 18% liked to spend their leisure time in the pub, 7% at football, 18% at concerts, 3.5% at ice hockey, 7% at the library, 3.5% mountaineering, 3.5% canoeing, 7% at the library, 14% didn’t go out AT ALL and 7% could go out and possibly preferred horseracing.
TV: 28% Eastenders, 14% Graham Norton, 28% The Simpsons, 7% ChangingRooms, 7% Friends and 14 % didn’t watch any TV.
DRUGS: 14% smoke, 14% drank and 7% took illegal substances the remaining 65% did nothing.
FAVOURITE COLOURS: 14% red, 22% green, 29% blue, 7% brown, 14% pink/purple and 14% yellow.
VOTING: 78% did not vote in the last election, 22% did. Reasons: 7% advice from grandmother, 7% was at college, 21% forgot, 7% not on register, 7% not eligible, 7% weren’t there, 7% too young, 7% thought there was no use, 7% were newcomers.
BOMBING: 100% did not think that the UK should bomb Iraq.
ART: 64% said the arts mattered to them, 7% yes a lot, 7% no, 7% thought so and 7% … eh… yes.
“Today we shall be auctioning these survey subjects as audience members for your – yes your – theatre company/organisation/performance collective/theatre. Today you could be taking your very own audience member from our diverse sample and we would like to whet your appetite by giving you a few key features of what we have available for you today….”
…Ladies and gentlemen, however, these audiences members don’t come cheap – or easy. 22% had been into the theatre space here and 57% had not been to the theatre at all in the last year. So what will make them go?
21% suggested cheaper tickets, 14% more advertising, 7% not political plays, 7% more famous people in the plays, 7% more time and friends to go with, 7% wanted to know what was in the theatre, 7% wanted a programme like at the Tricycle in the West End, 7% more programmes for younger people, 7% wanted more interesting and real life things and 7% didn’t know…
Other participants included: Meeting Ground; Stratford East; Tassos Stevens; The Bush Theatre; Insight Arts; Writernet; Polka; Yellow Earth; Lift; Man Mela; Arcola Theatre; RSC; Kushite; Artists in Exile; Shunt.
© Context Theatre MMIV