In the disguise of Art

A few of us went to see the screening of the documentary movie 'Truth in Translation' on Saturday evening (http://www.truthintranslation.org/). This is a very intense and powerful story of a theatre production travelling to parts of the world that has experienced continuous conflict and violence between people groups such as Northern Ireland, the Balkans, and Rwanda. The play itself was created in a workshop environment in South Africa, the theme was the Truth and Reconciliation Committee, and the actors represented the variety of ethnic backgrounds of the country. Through the story of the translators working daily with stories of victims and perpetrators, the different audiences was asked to step outside of their own situations and to look again at the source of the conflict they were experiencing, and how reconciliation could be achieved.

The responses were very different, ranging from heart-breaking declarations of forgiveness and commitment to reconciliation, to doubt to flat-out refusal to feel regret at past actions. We were incredibly lucky to have a discussion with the director and two of the actors after the screening. A couple of things they said stuck out for me. Firstly the director talked about how the stage production was able to visit areas of these countries and talk to people about conflict resolution in a way that would not have been possible if they did not have the play as a starting point. People came in droves in some places, eager for artistic experience, and found themselves unwillingly becoming involved in conversations about subject material they wouldn't talk about in another context. They came to talk to the celebrities of the production and ended up studying the face of the person next to them in an actor's exercise that also created empathy between the workshop participants. 

Secondly, one of the actors explained how the members of the cast managed to cope with all the personal conflicts created by the hazards of touring, the constant engagement with intense subject matter, and also the different backgrounds of the actors. Constant talking through of the issues and breaking up the tour into small chunks over a long period of time were some of the solutions. However, he believed that at the end of the day it all came down to the stage production itself, where all members literally had to do their part and interact and listen to the others. This is similar to Abreu when he says that the orchestra is an enterprise where all of the participants must agree with each other. In addition to this, the director emphasised in the documentary and in the discussion, that the production would not have been successful without the presence of music. The songs were another point when all the cast had to be in harmonic agreement with each other. Conflict resolution in the disguise of Art.