‘Behind every stone awaits an Alexander’: unravelling the limits of participation within micro and macro dramaturgy of participatory refugee theatre

ABSTRACT

In this article, we question the unilateral discourse of benefit of participation in participatory refugee theatre in the context of a growing socio-political climate of polarisation and stigmatisation of refugees in European countries of resettlement. By integrating critical voices from the fields of applied theatre and refugee research, we analyse the micro and macro dramaturgy of a Berlin-based participatory refugee theatre project. Through this analysis, we explore how refugees’ participation entails opportunities for empowerment, agency and giving voice, but also risks disempowerment and silencing in the interconnected relations between the participant, theatre maker, audience and the broader socio-political context.

KEYWORDS:

• Refugees
• theatre
• participation
• applied theatre
• refugee theatre

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sofie de Smet is a PhD researcher in Psychology and Theatre Studies at Ghent University (Belgium) and KU Leuven (Belgium). In her interdisciplinary research, she focuses on the post-narrative discourse on remembering histories of organised violence in the fields of transcultural trauma psychology and theatre studies.

Lucia De Haene is Assistant Professor affiliated to the research unit Education, Culture, and Society at KU Leuven (Belgium). Her research focuses on the psychosocial impact of organised violence and forced migration on refugee and migrant family relationships, the role of disclosure and narration in individual and collective post-traumatic reconstruction. She coordinates the Refugee Trauma Care Team at the Faculty’s Clinical Centre PraxisP.

Cécile Rousseau is Professor of Psychiatry at McGill University and Scientific Director of the Research Center of the CSSS de la Montagne. She works with immigrant and refugee communities, developing school-based interventions and policy-oriented research. Presently her research focuses on collaborative mental health care models for youth in multi-ethnic neighbourhoods.

Christel Stalpaert is Professor in Performance Studies at Ghent University (Belgium) where she is director of the research centre S:PAM (Studies in Performing Arts and Media) and PEPPER (Philosophy, Ethology, Politics and performance). Her main areas of research are the performing arts at the meeting-point of philosophy.

Notes

1 Arada is a traditional Arabic music group consisting of 20–50 men, who sing and perform swordplay during a myriad of celebrations, usually at the occasion of a wedding, the inauguration of a new store or business, or a pilgrim’s return from Mecca. They celebrate, congratulate and welcome the groom, the storeowner or the returning pilgrim, while triggering the curiosity of bystanders and passers-by in order to gather and entertain a crowd.

2 Mon grand-père était un Hakawati. Chaque jour il m’a raconté une histoire. Une fois dans le froid de l’hiver, pendant le soir, il m’a raconté une histoire que je me rappelle jusqu’à maintenant. C’était l’histoire d’une fille qui s’appelle Amèle. Translation by first author.

3 Et comme ça, elle a essayé de créer une génération qui résiste et qui est pleine d’espoir car le nom Amèle veut dire l’espoir en Arabe. Comme ça, elle a réussi à arrêter le sang qui coule comme des rivières et à créer une génération qui attend encore une explicitation pour le bateau de la culture. Donc, moi je suis une partie de cette génération qu’Amèle a créée et attend encore une explication pour le crime de la guerre qui dit : ‘tout passe et repasse sauf le mal qui laisse des traces’. Translation by first author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Special Research Fund (BOF), Ghent University, Belgium.