ArtistsAgainstTheWar

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Founding Statement of Artists Against the War

we resolve to:
• participate in the broad movement of people against this war
• resist all forms of censorship and disinformation about this war and attacks on civil liberties
• speak out against this war using every possible media
• change hearts and minds through art which opposes this war
• help to create the international movement against this war and oppose national chauvinism, racism and all forms of bigotry

Artists Against the War meet Sundays at THE FOUNDRY,
84-86 Great Eastern Street, London EC2 at 2.30 pm (Exit 3 Old Street tube)
Next meeting to be posted on
Events page
Email address: artistsagainstthewar@hotmail.com
www.ellipsis.com/aatw (regularly updated) OR www.artistsagainstthewar.org.uk

If you do live in London or are visiting, it would be great to see you on Sunday at The Foundry or send us any thoughts/ideas/events you are hosting and we can let everyone else know and feed it all back to the Stop the War Coalition.


FIGHT THE BAD FIGHT
Theatre's response (or lack of) to the war.
Brian Logan
Time Out 5-12 December, 2001

Should theatre be responding to the West’s attack on Afghanistan? And if so, how? Since hostilities were declared two months ago, we’ve heard more about how war has diminished people’s appetite for theatre than about how theatre might diminish the appetite for war. Says Lisa Goldman, artistic director of the Red Room theatre company and organiser of Artists Against the War, "There’s been some intelligent debate going on in the newspapers. But where’s the debate in the theatre? I haven’t had a sniff of it".
In fact, there have been sporadic responses, from Goldman and beyond. A month ago, the Royal Court hosted a benefit for the Stop the War Coalition, which featured performances of Caryl Churchill’s devastating ‘Far Away’ and Tony Kushner’s ‘Homebody/Kabul’. But, notwithstanding director Ian Rickson’s claim that to respond to the war is "absolutely a responsibility of the Royal Court", the theatre currently cites no concrete plans to do so. Last month, the Soho Theatre hosted a brief season of 10-minute plays by Roy Williams, Tanika Gupta, Shan Khan and others written in a matter of hours to respond to the day’s news. Every playwright chose to tackle September 11 and its consequences.
Artists Against the War, however, remains the theatre world’s most concerted response. It’s no surprise that Goldman is involved. With one of her co-founders, the actor Tam Dean Burn, she participated in artists’ campaigns against the Gulf War, and as Red Room head honcho she runs among the most politically committed companies in Britain. (Their most recent hit was Kay Adshead’s asylum seeker monologue, ‘The Bogus Woman’). "I see the role of art", she says, "as being to engage in areas of public debate and provoke questions".
Goldman is upbeat about prospects for Artists Against the War, despite the theatre world’s sometimes lacklustre answer to appeals for assistance. "The most common response that we get is silence and a complete lack of engagement with what we want to do", she reports. Spurred to form the movement by "anger and sadness that millions of people were going to needlessly die, and that the most powerful country in the world was making war on the most down-beaten", she now perceives widespread unease with the war and finds it "very hard to believe that anybody in the arts could support it".
Those who actively oppose it do so on several fronts. Artists Against the War constructed an 18ft George W Bush for last month’s Hyde Park demo. They have a stall outside Tate Modern and are organising art exhibitions to promote the cause. Benefit gigs and roving cabaret nights are planned. Royal Court playwright Rebecca (‘Yard Gal’) Prichard is co-ordinating a project to infiltrate guerrilla anti-war playlets into public places. Kay Adshead is writing a play that Goldman describes as "a jigsaw piece", whose many sections can be performed independently; Goldman hopes that dissident artists nationwide will do so long before the work is complete. Anti-war theatre, she argues, demands "new ways of presentation, because of the necessity to communicate more directly". She talks of "public portable pieces that can be used in a campaigning way", and of making theatre "in the spaces between theatres".
When considering a response to the conflict, Abigail Morris at Soho Theatre reached similar conclusions. "It wouldn’t have been right to commission a new play as such. The situation was changing so quickly it demanded an immediate response: snapshots, viewpoints, particular emotional reactions." The writers who contributed to the informal season that followed - its hastily devised pieces were staged at lunchtimes in the café beneath the theatre - "looked at the emotional contradictions of this war. Theatre’s job is to render it human".
But Morris declined Goldman’s invitation to affiliate to Artists Against the War, because "I didn’t know if I was or not". But she’s pleased that Soho Theatre has commented on the conflict. "I think that the ‘What can I do? I’m so unimportant’ mindset is really unhealthy. If we all do a little something, who knows what ripples we might create?" Goldman agrees, with the coda that to "do something" is an obligation, not an option. "If this war carries on, it’s our failure, and we should accept responsibility for the deaths of those people. I feel that very strongly. Now, art in itself is not going to stop the war, let’s face it. But people can stop the war through their movements and their dedication, and art can be a very important part of that."


PuppetFace

THOUGHTS FROM THE DEMONSTRATION....... FROM SCOTT
Wednesday, 21st November, 2001
On the morning of Sunday the 18th - at around 9.30 a group of artists met at a studio in Waterloo. Edward Coyet, an artist and former gallery owner, made a pair of 2ft skeletal hands. Veronica Planton made a large blood-stained American flag and coloured streamer; provided studio space, tea and a pair of 8ft long sleeves. I brought a tubular system of plastic rods which formed the skeleton and a 3ft colour print which formed the head, a computer composite of George Bush and Osama bin Laden. Mervyn Millar brought tools and a backpack which had been donated by Artists Against the War and Emma Schad came along and helped with stitching and provided moral support.
We finished assembling the 18 foot tall Bin/Bush monster and walked through London to Hyde Park, crossing Westminster Bridge catching street vendors by surprise - literally dropping their jaws. We passed the cenotaph which was surrounded by official types and people with medals - one chappie looked at our our beast and said "How clever! I hope its head gets blown off."
After a vote, we decided the cenotaph surrounded by armed Royal Marines would be too confrontational to approach and we made our way to meet up with the peace march.
On the way, we startled and almost caused two members of the mounted police to stampede. Veronica asked the police did they not have giant puppet resistance courses in the mounted police police training course.
We passed an ice cream van - and an American - who was saying "What are you protesting about? What's you're target? You have to define your target."
I asked: "Where's your laser targeted bombs, man?"
We passed through London avoiding trees, bus stops, power cables, tunnels, buses, traffic, small children and mounted police.
We made it to the march and were greeted by thousands of people with flags, banners and hooters; people cheered and we stopped for a quick interview and joined the march.
Mervin had carried the puppet from Waterloo, so we switched over - I got inside and Mervin and Ed manipulated the giant arms and hands.
After Mervin and Veronica left, Emma, Ed and I positioned ourselves in Trafalgar Square and manipulated the giant puppet and listened to the speakers.
SOAS (School for Oriental and African Studies) had created two other giant puppets: one of which had an inflatable world - which we tried to wrest from them a couple of times in a playful game. They were dressed in camouflage and had a machine gun and a monstous head. Well done to SOAS for bringing two large scale puppets.
Anyway as a result, in Monday's Guardian our puppet was on the front page - along with thousands of demonstrators. [you can see it] in the front page photo just above the yellow Stop the War sign hoisted by a Birmingham anti-war group and with the Stoke Newington PKK group behind.
So if anyone has seen an 18" tall puppet or needs one drop us a line.


AATW at demo

NEWS RELEASE: Monday 19 November 2001


MEDIA CONTACTS: Lindsey German 07810 540584 and Andrew Murray 07773 764455

* Stop the War Coalition demo - how many turned out?
* "Police figures for anti-war demo lack all credibility"
* The anti-war movement, the police and the numbers game

The Stop the War Coalition today criticised police for grossly underestimating the numbers who turned up for Sunday's anti-war demonstration in London.

"No one doubts that Sunday's demonstration was easily the largest anti-war event yet held in Britain," said Lindsey German, convenor of the Stop the War Coalition steering committee. "Police estimates of 15,000 lack all credibility.

"Police estimated the last major national anti-war event in London, on 13 October, at 20,000. Organisers estimated 50,000. According to newspaper reports, this Sunday's demonstration was considerably larger - we believe twice as large - as last month's, yet police would have us believe it was 25% smaller.

"As the march left Hyde Park, police told organisers that their initial estimate, at that time, was 30,000 - that is, 50 per cent larger than the march on 13 October. We indicated immediately that we believed the number to be much higher. It appears that police estimates were downgraded after the demonstration.

"Could it be that the police succumbed to political pressure from Downing Street to massage the figures downwards?"

"Our estimate of 100,000 was based on extensive and separate counts made by organisers who repeatedly walked the length of the march and who, later, viewed the full crowd overflowing Trafalgar Square from all angles.

"It took more than two hours for all the marchers to exit Hyde Park - twice as long as on 13 October.

"The real news is that anti-war feeling in Britain is clearly on the rise and the size and diversity of the demonstration confirmed that reality - clearly, an uncomfortable one for the government."

Notes:

The march was organised by the Stop the War Coalition and supported by a wide range of peace and political organisations, community groups, trades unions and individuals (including CND, Labour MPs, RMT, ASLEF, the Muslim Parliament, the National Civil Rights Movement, the Newham Monitoring Project, the London Council of Mosques, Labour Against the War, Media Workers Against the War, Lawyers Against the War, and Artists Against the War).


Excerpt from The Independent, 19th November, 2001
London anti-war march attracts 15,000 protesters
War on Terrorism: Demonstration
by Julia Stuart
"While their grammar was questionable, there was no mistaking their message. "1-2-3-4, we don't want no bloody war; 5-6-7-8, stop the bombing, stop the hate," bellowed the peace protesters as they inched their way through central London yesterday.
Upwards of 15,000 people, including well-heeled Middle Englanders, dubious-smelling crusties, veteran peace campaigners and pensioners, took part in what is believed to have been the biggest protest to date against the "war on terrorism". The event, which reverberated to the sound of whistles and drumming, was organised by Stop The War, a coalition representing numerous groups from trade unionists to politicians.
The peace campaigners at first massed in Hyde Park, some in carnival-style costumes, some on stilts and others in woollen hats and hiking boots who gave the impression that the event had been infiltrated by the Ramblers Association.
... "Under a heavy police presence, the campaigners started their march towards Trafalgar Square. One group of students pulled a 25ft Grim Reaper on a wooden trolley. Two members of Artists Against The War stood on the pavement of Piccadilly operating the skeletal fingers of an enormous puppet whose face was half that of bin Laden and half that of George Bush. 'They're both doing the same thing, killing people,' said one of the artists." ...


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Article from The Stage 22nd November, 2001

Artists Against the War
by Aleks Sierz

In a climate of political apathy, when fewer and fewer people vote, some events still stir the passions – and mobilise the politically committed. One of the responses to the current bombing campaign against Afghanistan has been the formation of Artists Against the War, a loose coalition of writers, actors, artists and film-makers.

Founder member Lisa Goldman, director of the Red Room theatre company, says, “When the bombing started, I got more and more upset and angry.” So she talked to actor Tam Dean Burn and fellow Red Roomer Emma Schad “about getting something going”.

Using email, they contacted a number of people, and held their first meeting on 14 October at the Foundry, a club in London’s Old Street. About 35 people attended and ideas for activities include an 18ft puppet effigy of President Bush, with a tiny figure of Tony Blair in his pocket, to be made by theatre director Mervyn Millar.

Artists Against the War is part of the wider Coalition to Stop the War, and banners are being made for the next major demonstration on 18 November. A stall has been set up outside the Tate Modern gallery on London’s Southbank and exhibitions of art are being organised.

“In a way,” says Goldman, “the length of the war – it looks as if, horribly, it will drag on – gives artists time to create larger and more complex responses.”

The Coalition to Stop the War held a benefit at the Royal Court on 4 November, which raised £2,000, and included a staging of Caryl Churchill’s Far Away and Kika Markham reading Tony Kushner’s Homebody Kabul. “We are led by the grassroots, but welcome any help we can get from celebrities,” says Goldman.

The overall aim is “to change hearts and minds”. But isn’t this an uphill struggle? “Look at Vietnam, and the way artists opposed that,” says Goldman. “You’re always open to the accusation of being naive, but the point is that things never change unless individuals take a stand.”

One writer who has done just that is Rebecca Prichard, whose play Yard Gal was a Royal Court hit in 1998. She says, “I'm involved with the project because I’ve felt this tension brewing for a long time, this collective sense of dis-ease.”

She feels that “war against terrorism” is just one example of the way a loss of faith in democracy is expressed through racial violence. “When people don’t have a voice – whether they are terrorists or just poor – they become violent and caricature their own identity.”

She’s part of the “antiwarheadz live” project which involves theatre in public places. “We’re setting up an website (antiwarheadz@yahoogroups.com) which playwrights can subscribe to and get updates on all the theatre projects,” she says.

At the moment, writer Kay Adshead is writing a play which can be broken up into “portable pieces” – short 2-mins or 10-mins bites – and then performed in public. Inspired by Artists Against the War, Tony Craze is writing an hour-long play.

More subversive is the use of Augusto Boal’s idea of invisible theatre, where a scene is enacted without telling the public that it’s a show. “We want loads of ‘public scenes’ going off throughout the UK,” says Prichard, “to engage, provoke and empower public response to the war.”

She also hopes “there will be some cross-fertilisation between artistic projects”, for example, between musicians and performers or between writers and visual artists. “Such collaboration could be inspirational to all involved.”

Prichard agrees that theatre in public “has a slightly didactic or soapbox image” but argues that “that does not have to be the case”. In the end, “it is very personal how artists engage with the public: scenes can be humorous, intimate, confrontational, provocative, subtle. We’ll perform anything related to the war almost anywhere.”

Why use theatre? “It’s a perfect vehicle,” says Prichard. “At the heart of theatre is democracy because the audience is always an unnamed character in the play which affects the performance – they are witnesses to the debate..” She feels a responsibility “to be some kind of counterweight (or perhaps just a pain in the arse?)” to the pervasive media bias in favour of war. “This war is inhumane,” agrees Goldman. “Its objectives are unclear, and it’s causing more problems than it’s solving.”

She’s appalled by the prospect of seven million people starving as a result of the campaign. “I can’t see how you can justify that,” she says. “For artists, who are working on a level of human empathy, there’s an implicit vision of a better world.”

She’s not soft on the Taliban – “a repressive and vicious regime” – but argues that “that doesn’t justify bombing the fuck out of them”. Goldman says that while many writers have expressed interest in the campaign, they still need some more performers. “I think change always begins with individuals making brave choices, and giving some of their time and taking the risk of being mocked or unpopular.”

Prichard says, “Any actors who want to support the anti-war project would also be very welcome. We’re hoping some people might find the opportunity to do something different is a refreshing element of the project.”

Initial supporters

Kevin Williamson (Rebel Inc)
Lisa Goldman (The Red Room)
Emma Schad (The National Theatre)
Tam Dean Burn
John McGrath
Angeline Ferguson (Delta Video)
Johny Brown
The Band of Holy Joy (Rough Trade Records)
Jeremy Hardy
Mervyn Miller (Wireframe)
Rob Spragg (Larry Love - Alabama 3)
Gerry Collinge (Apples and Snakes)
Dic Edwards
John Wild (Art Tendency Against Capitalism)
Mamuka Juphanidu
Izzy Mant (Theatre Machine)
Polly Wiseman (Fireraisers)
Nathan Evans
Rebecca Prichard
Maxine Peake
Smith
Neil Monghan
Joe Licky
Laurence Cliffe
John Chris Jones
Sherryl Yanowitze
Jo Dyer
Carl Taylor
Richard Garratt
Evans
Leon Kuhn
Tassos Stevens (Lion & Unicorn)
Michael Ditch-Finn
Anthea Nicholson
Richard Peacock
Sarah Hart
Penny Gold
Ana Andrejic
Valerie Rose
Tony Craze
John Walker (University of Manchester)
Roney Fraser Munro (K3 Media)
James Nye (Zinc Stoat)
Judy Upton
Rob Young
Kay Adshead
Noma Dumezweni
Emma Mongan (Swing Me High Dance Co.)
Titania Krimpas
Russell Edward
Vanessa Richards (Mannafest)
Louise Chantal (Soho Theatre)
Andrew Kennedy
Kulvinder Singh
Linda Revill (Green Room Arts)
Diana Gibbz
Paul Brunton (Dance Space)
Robert Allwood
Rachel Smith
Sarah Morgan
China Mieville
Athena Mandis
Paul Hill
Michael Harding
Mamuka Japharidze
John Chris Jones
Peter Anderson
Carmel Stoney
Andy Ridley

Artists Against The War Scotland
Artists Against The War Scotland are a loose collective of artists of many and varied types formed in response to the huge feeling against the war from the artistic community. If you would like to make the voice of dissent even louder and more colourful ... please get involved.
Email: shaunaaatws@yahoo.co.uk
www.aatws.org.uk

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