Post by Morven Gregor- Artistic Director- Mouth of Silence- Birds of Paradise Theatre Company
Readers of reports such as REMHI (Recovery of Historical Memory 1998) or CEH (Historical Clarification Commission 1999) are probably all too familiar with the catalogue of atrocities visited on the people of Guatemala during the 36 years of conflict. Unfortunately, both then and now, most folk in the UK know nothing about it.
Ten years on from the signing of peace in December 1996 – how much media coverage will that anniversary get here in the UK?
That’s why as the touring production for 2006, Birds of Paradise Theatre Company are creating Mouth of Silence a new play inspired by the struggle for justice in Guatemala.
In some ways, the process started a long time ago, before I became an Artistic Director and volunteered with the Guatemalan Accompaniment Group living with a community of returned refugees in the Department of Huehuetenango. That experience in some ways inspired this year’s production.
However, theatre is a collaborative process and everyone involved in the workshopping (pre-rehearsal) period brought something to the process.
Writer, Gerry Loose has worked on many projects connected with peace and conflict resolution. One of the actors, Rachel Amey, had passed through the country, travelling. Designer Claire Halleran visited Guatemala in January this year. So, with a sense of creative enquiry, the help of others who had worked and volunteered there and lots of research materials we spent several days together exploring what we wanted the production to be.
Large issues demand a large canvass and for this reason we decided the performance will combine scenes in promenade and outdoor stations as well as in more traditional indoor theatre spaces. The audience and performers will mingle in market and return scenes, heightening their involvement in the piece. Working with deaf actor, EJ Raymond, we also decided to make the production inclusively signed – using the relationship between sign language and English as a parallel to the power relations between indigenous languages and Spanish in Guatemala.
With all these decisions made, we went our separate ways: Gerry to produce the script, Claire the model box and me to wait for the results!
So far, so good – rehearsals start on the 22nd May and we open at the Tramway Theatre, Glasgow on 22nd June as part of Refugee Week, before touring across Scotland.
Come and see the show, if you can. We’ll also tour a small exhibition and information stall, encouraging people to take action related to Guatemala.
And if you can’t join us we plan to have a tour weblog, so you can see how the production progresses across the country.
Production opens at the Tramway Theatre, Glasgow 22nd – 24th June 7.30pm
And then tours throughout Scotland; including Edinburgh, Taynuilt, Ballachulish, Banchory, Drumnadrochit, Isles of Gigha, Harris and North and South Uist.
See the Birds of Paradise website for details.
