Arts & International Affairs: Volume 3, Issue 1, Spring 2018 | Page 46

THE ARTS, PARTICIPATION, AND GLOBAL INTERESTS
Reem’s decision to use theatre as medium for expression certainly suggests that artists
are predisposed to bear witness. Xenia Hanusiak contended that witnessing is point of
activation for the actor, which she applied to Mikael Löfgren’s comparison between the
male lead’s revolutionary politics in August Strindberg’s Miss Julie and Farber’s adaptation
set in post-apartheid South Africa. Löfgren also challenged everyone to think of the
difference between first hand or “real” and fictional witnessing.
The collaboration needed to stage The Queens of Syria, but also Mies Julie and Ramy:
In the frontline, resonated with Marika’s small-group discussion on platforms. Groupmember
Eona Craig advocated for connectivity and greater awareness for the “here and
now,” which Ellen Heyward described as necessary building-blocks for “making people
protagonists in the narratives in their own story.” In the context of today’s theme, Ellen’s
comments were certainly applicable to artists and non-artists.
Debating the role of the artist enhanced the conversation, but also compelled the Fellows
to reel in the discussion and focus on defining the act of witnessing. An exchange
between Reem and Jumana expanded on Asif Majid’s provocation on the difference between
being a witness and being an observer. For the Fellows, the premise that witnessing
is a productive action led them to describe observing as passive. Jumana articulated
this difference by stating that the news exists to learn what happened, but theatre takes
reality and draws out the underlying truth from those events and conflicts.
The recognition that theatre has the ability to bear witness initiated a subsequent exchange
on Essam’s interactive production, which defies the customary rules for traditional
theatrical performances. Asif implored the group to examine the effects Essam
had on audiences rather than the production’s form; the latter, Asif cautioned, would
trap the Fellows in the same high-low dichotomy they resisted on Day 2.
Asif ’s comments were met with murmurs of approval, capping off a spirited string of
disagreements. The Fellows were visibly moved to have the opportunity to air and listen
to numerous competing perspectives on the power of witness.
Day 4: Empathy
Empathy describes the ability to relate to another individual’s point of view and understand
his or her emotional response. Artists often express the human condition in terms that the audience
will recognise. Empathy allows the artist to execute this task. How do the arts humanise
or dehumanise? In general, how do we empathise and represent the individual and human
condition?
Zach Marschall and Prof J.P. Singh summarise the discussion on Empathy, reflecting
on the show “Flight.”
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