Hear what Work Experience student Melissa Rogula has to say on her review of STAND.
Hear what Work Experience student Melissa Rogula has to say on her review of STAND.
STAND is unlike your usual theatre production. Instead of it being written by a playwritter, whose aim is usually to tell a story in the most desired light of the audience it will be performed in front of, STAND was created in the light of six individual living in Oxford who have their own stories to tell. The idea of someone else’s voice being heard was due to the temporary merger between Chris Goode (and company) and the Oxford Playhouse. Chris Goode is well known for making space for unknown voices, experimenting with stories to attract a different crowd. Past performances by Chris Goode and Company have included ‘Monkey Bars’ and ‘Longwave’, both joining the crowd of ‘alternative’ theatre, which I think sums up Chris Goode and Company’s style of working.
I have never particularly liked going along with the crowd and watching the same theatre that everyone else has already seen, so no other points of view are really valid to the reviewing of the play. Watching STAND felt like a breath of fresh air, being able to sit on the Corn Exchange theatre stage to feel even closer to the actors emotions and real life stories made us all connect to them even further, rather than simply sitting in the stands just unmindfully glaring at other actors in a fictional play that has no relevance to reality. The production was held for exactly 1 hour and 17 minutes (timed precisely by their stage management team) but the production felt like it had only been on for half of this time, due to the close atmosphere around the stage to the remarked actors playing the roles of the six individuals who wanted their story to make a STAND.
These six residents of the town Oxford provide a personal inside view to the realities of activism and standing up in what you believe in. They showed that activism can take place anywhere and against anything, great or small. Whether it’s against a large scientific animal testing facility (Albert’s story), or the ethics by how we raise our children, in this case Jan’s daughter, for standing up against others for a stranger being mistreated on public transport (Jan’s story. More stories can be found on YouTube from the other residents portrayed in the production). Either way, the play not only taught us about activism and the effects it has on society, but also that it doesn’t matter how big or small your case is, anyone can stand up for what they believe in and can be classed as an activist. Everyone in the world has the freedom to express their opinion, so why don’t they? What’s stopping them? This may be the harsh reality of society nowadays, in some cases this is stopping people express their opinion because it may not go along with the idealistic way everyone should think and do. This was the message I portrayed from STAND.
I was part of the stewarding team for the show so I was also lucky enough to be part of the post-show talk with the actors portraying the six original people. This post-show talk was led more by the audience than the staff running it. This made it feel even more comforting and welcoming than the show beforehand. Furthermore, it was incredible and up lifting to see so many people engage with the actors as they talked about the original stories and how the actors felt about portraying them. Already obtaining knowledge of the show before seeing it, I knew that the actors had met the individual activists before the show to learn their stories to then be passed onto Chris to then make a theatre production out of. Members of the public also shared their own experiences of activism, which made you think about how much activism acts you’ve done and what impact have you had on society in your lifetime? Have you taken your stand for what you believe in? It taught me that I should not care about other people’s opinions before expressing my own, and that I should take my own stand in what I believe in like these individuals. Even the actors discussed their limited activism movements and they reflected on how these six people not only educated them on what they did, but on their own activism efforts and how they could possibly change them.
The production had a knock on effect on everyone, from a review of the show sense to getting in touch with a deep emotion pulling you back from taking a stand in your lifetime. The production touched the audience and the atmosphere felt philosophical from the start of the production to the end of the post-show talk. I wish the company the best of luck with their ongoing tour to other towns listed and I hope that the message of STAND will affect everyone else who watches as much as it has to the Newbury Corn Exchange members watching this show.