Missing in Action: the Country Boy

Abstract

In the introduction to his report, Dragan observes that the current policy debate about agriculture, rural areas, food and animals "remains in a narrow circle of experts or organized interests that come in with predetermined, firmly entrenched opinions and stances." He hopes the arts can provide new impulses for this debate and mentions particularly the potential of site-specific theatre in this regard. The example Dragan gives of Johan Simmons' frustration about wishing to make theatre for farmers but only attracting middle class urban audiences from Amsterdam is instructive. Only when Simmons started basing his show on authentic interviews with farmers conducted by actresses who learned the local dialect in the process, did he become more successful. In other words: when he started working more - but not quite - along the lines of WOMEN IN THE WEST. At this juncture, I would like to bring Mike Pearson and a Utrecht-based professional participatory community theatre company into the equation. The company from Utrecht is simply called Stut, after the sturdy metallic device that is used to prevent mine shafts from caving in. Founded in 1977, it is the pioneer of participatory community theatre in the Netherlands.