Further Development and Refinement, Political Protests #5

The next time we met we looked at how we were going to make the piece more physically interesting and dynamic.We started by agreeing that we had to devise a more abstract and artistic way of going into the restraint, this would make it more effective visually and therefore have more of an impact. The devising of this short sequence came out of simple trial and error. We would play around with various movements until we found one that worked. We ended up with a short sequence where the patients would place a hand on the doctors shoulders as the end of grandmothers footsteps, the doctors then proceed to grab that hand and pull it forward, whilst moving their other arm around the patients back so they can turn round and both the doctor and patient lean back before going straight down into a restraint. It was fluid and fast, allowing it to have the maximum impact as it happens very quickly out of nowhere. After that came the problem of how the patients were coming to move when playing grandmothers footsteps, as at that moment we were just walking forward. We moved through several ideas, looking at choreographing a piece of physical theatre that all three of us would use to move or having a body part that we led with. These ideas were good but it still wasn't quite at the place to needed to be. Until Roseby came up with the idea that we incorporate the audience into the game, ie we ask them to play grandmothers footsteps. This was a brilliant idea as it meant the restraining would be even more effective as it would happen in the midst of all these people who think were just playing a simple game. We also agreed that to outline the themes and ideas of the protest we would write 'patient' on our faces, the ones who were the patients, and then 'The Mental Health System' on the back of the doctors coats the doctors are going to be wearing. 'The mental health system' was chosen specifically so it was clear that it could be any mental health hospitals, not just the nhs in this country, it is a flaw within all practices.  

To make it more hard hitting we agreed the patients would saying things like 'Stop', 'No' and 'I cant breathe'. These phrases were good as they didn't hint towards them having any kind of fit, thus rising to the stereotype of people being 'mad' in these hospitals. After they yelled 'I cant let go of you until you calm down' we knew there had to be some outlining or facts about what it was about. We discussed a few possibilities and came up with the phrase 'FACE DOWN RESTRAINT IS A DANGEROUS PRACTICE' said by the patients after they have sat up and turned to face the doctors, with the reply of 'YOU WERE BEING A THREAT' or 'ITS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD' leading them to get up and return to the start line.

Political Protests #4

Grandmothers Footsteps

After the mini premier of what we had so far, we all agreed that our piece needed some serious work. We took some inspiration from the workshop we had just had from the site specific group Gruff. In their workshop we looked at the simple game of Grandmother's Footsteps, how the dynamics and power was between the grandmother and the ones trying to reach her and what shapes and interactions occur between the large group of people. We took this because we all agreed that we needed stronger intentions and possibly make the piece into more of an experimental game. With grandmothers footsteps it shows that the mental health patients have a very clear intentions as the whole point of the game is that you strive to reach grandma. However, this would never fit into the context of face down restraint so we thought about what it is that the patients are striving for. Our conclusion was that they are striving  to be mentally well and to get the care that they need to achieve this. Therefore, they are striving for the support that should be in the mental health system, this support comes from doctors or therapists (workers) in medical practices.

This would form the bases of our piece, the patients are playing the game to reach the doctors, however they never really get there as they are repeatedly restrained by the same doctors who in turn send them back to the point they started from. What we liked about the use of grandmothers footsteps was that we all wanted to show that the people that this happens to are no difference form us. In childhood, for the majority, it is a time where everyone is the same as they have not yet learn't the behavior of excluding and other negative things. It is also a time where problems in mental health are not really an issue, commonly children as young as 4 or 5 don't often suffer from depression or other problems like that. Therefore, we have tried to revert everyone back to a time when people with mental health problems were no different to everyone else, and therefore demonstrate that face-down restraint is used on normal people and so if face-down restraint can happen to them then why would it wrong if someone tried to do to me in the street. What I also really liked about the game was that in that moment we, as the patients, became a collective with the rest of the participants.

The once we reached the 3 doctors each one would restrain one of us, while we struggle until we calm down after they have said 'I CAN'T LET GO OF YOU UNTIL YOU CALM DOWN'. This sentence came through just general play of being restrained, I think it was Eden who said it just naturally and we all agreed it was effective and so we used it. From this point we would get up and then go back to the start line.

It was a great place to be in but we all agreed that the game needed to be more dynamic, particularly from the patients as we were just walking forward. We also agreed that there needed to be more to the restraining as it was the center of our piece and that it needed to be clearer, as it could look a bit like police brutality.

Developing Our Political Protest #3

As we tried to develop our first idea we ran into a numerous amount of problems. Looking back on it,

a lot of our difficulties stemmed from that fact that we had so many ideas and pockets of the overall theme of mistreatment within the nhs/private hospitals that we wanted to include, it got very messy very quickly and we were unable to hone into a specific point. The issue of face-down restraint was always a main theme but we also wanted to talk about how medical drugs are juts handed out to patients often without an explanation of what they will do or the side effects, as well as what is in these drugs or any kind of offer of an alternative route to getting well. As much as this was something that we all felt strongly about, we realized after getting  nowhere with our protest that to include this second layer of the issue is just complicated and confusing for both us when devising and anyone who would watch what we had produced.

What we ended up with after developing our idea for about a week was a piece that looked a lot about tackling the issues of drugs. This was a direct comment to when we all showcased our work after about a week to the rest of the class, nearly everyone had no idea what our protest was about or the point we were trying to make, with anyone who did think they understood thinking it was about drugs. What we were trying to convey in that failed attempt was that medical stuff are often instructed to force some sort of pill or drug into a patient to calm them down if they started having a uncontrollable or potential 'threatening' outburst in a mental hospital. We attempted to show this by restraining Frances onto a table, with four doctors at each corner, and then tossing her about as we struggled with two of us then proceeding to force feed her a pill from which she slumped over Kieron's shoulder and is carried away in a fireman's lift. However, even I knew while we were debuting our piece that it just turned into really unclear chaos that was all over the place and not thought provoking at all. I found it hard to keep a straight face and to actually take what we were doing seriously, as a performer I found I didn't connect with the work at all and therefore the piece had no emotional effect on me meaning it had no emotional impact on the audience either.

After that, we decided that a lot of the ideas in that piece were going to be put to one side for now, and we would draw from our original idea of the restraining happening to people who are just acting normally. 

Antigone, Research #1

Antigone as a Greek tragedy -

• Greek tragedies looks suffering and misery directly in the face, its truthful and blunt. It transcends cultural and temporal boundaries due to the fact its themes are so universal and widely recognized. This is evident in the fact that most of the themes presented in greek tradegies are still relevant today, because even those culture and language may change these basic themes always stay the same and can be seen in any culture or society. Greek tragedy also enables us to reflect on society and the current issues around the world, because these issues are presented in such a bold and forceful way that you have no choice but to recognise and accept that these problems are a part of society.
• Aristotle came up with a 'formula' for a good tradegy. The hero's of the tradegy would have to be good, but no so good that you can't relate to them or that it seems unrealistic. They would have a good heart and try to do good things but make mistakes along the way like any normal person does.He said that one of the key things that leads greek tragedy is the 'Hamartia'. This is the error of judgement. Most Greek tradegies aren't about wicked people who do things in order to hurt or cause pain, it usually revolves around some one making a bad desicion that leads to terrible things. In that moment that decision seems like the right thing to do and there is no way of knowing what terrible fate will come out of it. The hamartia shows us that we live in a flawed world, yet a lot of this comes out of our actions and decisions and therefore we are responsible for these flaws. 
• Death is a key feature in Greek tradegies. One of the strongest metaphors do with death is around the sun. Characters who know or fear that they're about to die often address the sun. It revolves around the concept of 'leaving the light '(life) and entering the darkness(death).   
• Structure - Greek tradegies always start with a prologue that sets the scene. This is then followed by the chours. This allows for the passing of time after the prolouge, what may be several minutes on stage can be made into several hours by the chours.  
• Greek tradegy has had an enormous impact on the world. The plots and structures that feature in greek tradegies have been replicated in loads of ways over the years. One example is the soap operas that we get on T.V. Nearly all the plots and themes shown in these soap operas have been taken from Greek Tradegies. Arthur Miller is also a well-known writer who takes greek tradegies and the themes within them and
• Aristotle talks about something called Cartharsis (the concept of cleansing and purifying). This is the idea that you watch the end of a tradegy you feel pity and fear, and these emotions get cleansed via watching the play. Its the idea of emotional draining - however traumatic watching these plays may be, by the end you feel a sense of healing/cleansing of all the emotions you've released while watching that play.     

Antigone and Creon:

• The relationship between Antigone and Creon isn't family one, its a political one.
•  The realtionship is complicated as they are related yet that doesn't count for anything. Creon treates her as a criminal and refuses to acknowledge their familly bond. Yet deep down I think that they both feel betratyed that they are family and can't work and support each other.
• Creon puts politics and what people think of him above the duty to care for your family and therefore care for Antigone.
• Creon isn't the 'bad guy' he just thinks differently and takes on a different opinion. 

Political of Women in Theatre - 

Women were sometimes seen but definitely not heard. Women were discarded and were treated appallingly compared to the way  men were treated. Yet, Greek plays featured a lot of strong female characters who commanded power and respect. It showed then fighting back and resisting the rules that were in place for them. However, they did recognise how important women were. Women were given credit for the fact they gave birth and organised many of the religious festivals. Tragedies show the tension between the women's importance and the fact they dominate male must keep they under control and subdued. The

 character of Medea represents this tension in the greek society. 
Issues in greek society were often raised in theatre as a safe way of discussing and bringing attention to these issues. 
Writer recognised that the storyline of somebody striking back against power created a griping and emotional story. Women participated heavily in religion so it is possible they participated fully in the theater, but they were excluded from the festival where the dramas that have come down to us were performed. Greece valued a womens submission, yet most greek tragedies show the opposite to this trait. Plays like Antigone present women who will fight for what they believe in and even die as long as their voice is heard. This makes me believe that a lot of these plays were done to push and go against these views as a political statment. 

The Social Context -

At this time society in Athens was very male-dominated. Only men had the rights to be citizens and upper-class men were the only ones to enjoy a formal education. There were few political rights given to women as they were expected to stay at home and bear children. The Greeks also had salves, these were usually people who had be captured during the clashes that extended Greek influence overseas. One quarter of the population was made up of slaves. The salves were used to provide much of the manpower that fuelled the growing economy, they worked in shipyards, quarries, mines and as domestic servants. The houses were mostly modest and without widows. The homes were generally built around a central courtyard, furniture was rare. People spent most of their time out doors while enjoying the sun. Wealthy upper/middle-class people would attend markets or shows during their spare time. 

Political Protests, The Beginnings #1

To begin with there was two possible topics we wanted to focus on. These were the corruption/exploitation in large corporations and the misuse of face-down restraint.

After weighing up these two issues and moving through the potential they both possessed, we settled face-down restrain and mistreatment of patients in the nhs. We chose this because we are all passionate about how its used so frequently and so violently in cases where arguably it wasn't necessary and where the worker hadn't always had the right training to carry it out. It was also the issue that we found we could draw more research from websites and books as well as it having more creative potential.

To begin the formation of our protest, we started with research, lots and lots of research. This is because we are all very aware that to do a piece on mental health and the treatment in the nhs is quite difficult as there is always the easy mistake of portraying it in a very stereotypical and almost offensive way, especially since none of us have even been emitted into a mental health hospital and so its hard to grasp a realistic idea of what its actually like. A key example of this is portraying mentally ill patients who are just having crazy fits all the time, this is what most people assume everyone in a mental hospital is like but in fact it isn't the reality. You can be admitted into a mental health hospital for illnesses like bipolar, schizophrenia or major depression and extreme suicidal behavior.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
The main points we want to demonstrate is that often the people on which face-down restraint is used on are not so far from us, they are just normal people who struggle in life. One of our first ideas was to have the 'patients' in plain clothes casually interacting with others around the school, maybe they might ask if they have a pen they can borrow or comment on something nice their wearing, either way it would be a very simple day to day interaction that all of us have done without thinking to much of it. Then out of nowhere two doctors, who are deeming the patient a 'threat' come and pull the patient away into face down restraint. The patient will of course struggle and squirm but because of the panic arising due to being physically restrained, not due to them having a mental 'fit' or anything else that someone could assume happens. As this is happening another doctor goes up to the people the patient was just talking to and bombards them with questions about if their hurt or what were they asking you, preceding to tell them all to move along as there's nothing to see here, while the patient yells facts about face down restraint in an effort to cry for help and justice. 

Although this idea was strong we found that the line between looking like the patient was having a fit and looking like it was a struggle to not be restrained was a fine line and we could be endanger of tipping into the wrong side of that. We also all agreed that as this was our first idea this would not be our final piece, we had to develop and push it to become more powerful and artistic. 

Political Protest Research - Face-Down Restraint #2

My Research -

• An account of mistreatment of a bipolar patient in a Mental hospital, due to face down restraint http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37417132 -> Jane (not her real name) was restrained face-down while being treated for bipolar disorder on a psychiatric ward. She was suicidal, and a male nurse had been assigned to watch her every move. "I got very very distressed that there was this male nurse watching me use the bathroom, use the toilet," she said. When she tried to leave her room and became upset, she was restrained. Jane was forced to the ground, her underwear removed, and she was injected in the buttocks with medication. She said: "These were large male nurses and the weight on my back was crushing my chest. "And I couldn't turn my head to the side either. "And then one of them turned my head to the side and pinned it to the side. "Your initial reaction is to struggle, not to kick anyone or to lash out but to try and move. "Someone's pinning you down, you can't breathe. "I felt like I'd been assaulted. "I felt very very very frightened. "This was nothing to do with nursing care. "Someone could have just sat and spoke to me." 
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22955917 The Northumberland, Tyne and Wear trust used face-down restraint 923 times in 2011-12. Southern Health trust, based in Southampton, used it 810 times. Between them, the two institutions account for almost half of all the face-down restraint revealed in the figures.
• When is physical restraint used in the nhs: - Healthcare staff have a duty of care to act in the patient's best interests. - Nice guidelines state that when people in hospital for mental health care need to be controlled or restrained, this should only be done by trained staff. - Restraint techniques should only be used "as a last resort, using minimum force and making sure that the person is safe" - Hospital policies typically say restraint will only be used if it is believed necessary to prevent harm to the person. - Must be proportionate to the likelihood and seriousness of harm Physical restraint involves one or more staff members holding or moving the person, or otherwise blocking their movement http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22955917
• In a report they say it is shocking that there have been 13 restraint-related deaths of people detained under the Mental Health Act since the death of David "Rocky" Bennett in 1998. Eight of those occurred in a single year (2011).  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22955917
• The case of David 'Rocky' Bennet in 1998 - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4288193.stm The 

  

  David Bennet

  38-year-old collapsed in 1998 after he was held face down for 25 minutes after hitting another patient - who went on to attack and racially abuse him - and punching a female nurse.
• Mind says 39,883 incidents of physical restraint were recorded during 2011-12, with 3,000 in dangerous face-down position https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/jun/19/physical-restraint-mental-health-patients
• http://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/news/mind-calls-for-end-to-life-threatening-face-down-restraint-in-mental-health-hospitals/#.WCmzyC2LSUk Data secured by Mind under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that at least 3,439 patients in England were restrained in a face down position in 2011-12, despite the increased risk of death from this kind of restraint.                                        -There were at least 39,883 recorded incidents of all kinds of physical restraint during the 12 month period, resulting in at least 949 injuries to people with mental health problems. We found huge variation between mental health trusts in the use of all types of physical restraint. Surrey and Borders NHS Foundation Trust reported just 38 incidents over the year while Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust reported 3,346, despite the fact that physical restraint is supposed to be used as a last resort.                                                                              -We also conducted a survey of 375 frontline healthcare staff involved in physically restraining people with mental health problems. Almost a quarter (22 per cent) had not had face-to-face training on physical restraint techniques in the last 12 months and one in ten (9 per cent) said that the last time they were involved in physically restraining someone, they didn’t feel they knew what they were doing. More than four in ten (42 per cent) said that, with hindsight, they feel restraint has sometimes been used inappropriately. 

Devising Political Theatre & Brecht

The article we chose was one documenting the refugee crisis and the recent demolishing of the Calais jungle. Taking this as our stimulus we devised a short political scene depicting the prejudice that refugees receive from some local people, police, and various medias. The piece started off with Roseby and I commenting on how more refugees had moved into our street and how happy we were that the heating had been fixed due to the fact it was so cold outside, we then preceded to shout verbal abuse at the people camping on the street and phoning the police to make a formal compliant about how they have been encroaching on our property. Throughout this we attempted to work in elements of subtlety to comment and reflect on this issue. For example, upon entering Roseby casually mentioned how 'cold it is outside' and 'how happy I am that the heating is fixed', as well as her mentioning a recent purchase of an expensive item from 'Wholefoods'. I'm not sure how successful this was as I think that it was possibly too subtle and so could have been glossed over. but the intended effect was to highlight how oblivious they were to how the cold would be effecting refugees living on the street and therefore they were ignorant to how fortunate they were by
 just having a warm and safe place to call home. From our window, Roseby and I continued to watch a police officer come and try to move them along, resulting in more abuse towards him from the officer. This was then interrupted by the entering of a news reporter and a cameraman who started to document the 'fight' that had broken out with the refugees acting 'violently' towards the officer.

When adapting this into the style of Brecht, the main feature we changed was the introduction of signs. We ended up creating a sign for each character and then a joint one for the two people playing refugees, each sign said 'Am I ...' and then whatever label or stereotype we wanted to characterize these people as. For example, my sign said 'Am I ... a rich, white, European?' and the cameraman's sign said 'Am I ... a media pig'. These signs were then held over our eyes and nose so you could only see your mouths, allowing everyone to hear what we were saying. This Brechtian device enables the audience to detach them selves emotionally from the piece as you can no longer see each characters faces, most importantly their eyes. It is a common saying that the eyes are the window to the soul, and therefore by removing that you remove the human connection element that audience member s make with the people on stage and therefore we just become a representation of that stereotype or concept making it easier for the audience to think over the issue. We also made it into more of a montage, with the two refugees staying still in the center the entire time as all the action, that is directly effecting them, happens around them. This make the scene less like a real life situation as the different characters aren't all engaging with each other, and therefore the audience are able to acknowledge that its a play and not a slice of real life.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Research on Brecht

Brecht was a German playwright, born in 1898 and died in 1956. He actively wrote plays throughout the early 1900's, expressing his views on suffering and the effect of poverty and conflict through writing during the second world war. Brecht worked as a medical orderly through ww1 and as a result he saw the physical and mental pain that war created and the wounds thst were inflicted, this hugly influenced his writing. He was also exiled from Germany for a period of time in ww2 and therefore he saw most of the war from a outside perspectivec from America, allowing him to see clearly the changes and effects it had on Germany. His main work consists of 'The Caucasian Chalk Circle', 'The Threepenny Opera', and 'Mother Courage and Her Children'.Brecht was a huge fan of Charlie Chaplin and strived to achieve an acknowledge meant on how artifical theatre was within the art.

Bertolt Brecht's style of theatre was called 'Epic Theatre'. A style that aimed to emotionally distance the audience member from the content of the play its self so that they are able to make conscious and informed thoughts and decisions about the issues within the play. To avoid this emotional investment Brecht's plays aimed to break the forth wall in order for the audience to actively engage with the play and stay thinking/reflecting through out. He also used techniques such as narration, coming in & out of character, speaking stage directions and direct address to break the ideas around the play being a reality and more of a presentation. 

What is the purpose of theatre?

Within my group we discussed a lot of different reasons for why theatre is important and the purpose it serves. We talked about how Theatre comes from a background of entertainment and storytelling but that over the years it has evolved into something that is used as a tool to experiement and devle into deeper possablities of the human mind and body. The art of theatre is often used to give insight into a perspective on various issues or concepts that are relevant to the modern day. It therefore can be used tovdissolve ignorance amongst people, sheading light on how the people within these issues are effected and try to live their lives. It provides the opportunity for an audience member to understand and connect with a reality that they may not have fully acknowledged, understood or even known exsisted. This can enable growth within these people in our society as it challenges the responses and support that us, as mankind, give to whatever concepts are being presented. Putting on political theatre makes it harder for people to ignore and forget the suffering and injustice that some people go through, pushing them to confront and question whatever is being presented within the play and therefore invoking change.