Playback theatre really is a wonderful tool if one is exploring performance pieces which are not written as yet or are so few that one is totally frustrated…that is my current situation in my search for intercultural pieces that highlight the differences among Chinese and Australian (or any ‘western” culture for that matter). I wrote Our Man in Beijing as a response to the intercultural wilderness as far as Chinese ‘western’ pieces are concerned. Playback theatre is improvisional, unscripted and spontaneous theatre. I like the unscripted bit. Just think if I could get a group of people together from diverse ethnic backgrounds in one room…throw in a few musicians…a piano, a guitar, a violin perhaps…and see what happens in the hands of aconductor, and lots of story tellers/audience and of course some actors…yes, i think we will have some “scripts” emerging out of this. YES! perhaps a series of sessions, perhaps a workshop, perhaps …let me know if you are reading this blog..
Moni