Almost a month ago on 9 June, the play ‘Unruly’ wrapped up its first tour at Theatre Arts in Observatory. This was an extra show that we added in response to high demand during the previous week – and just as most of the other performances, this final one was fully booked.
Over 400 residents attended the show as it toured Ocean View, Kommetjie, Constantia, Simon’s Town, Da Gama Park, Welcome Glen, Capri, and finally Observatory (not counting a performance at the Open Book Festival at the Bertha House in Mowbray on 8 June). We are still going through all the written and recorded feedback, which is also a valuable input to our ongoing research, but overall the response from communities has been overwhelmingly positive. While people expressed both feelings of sadness and of hope, it seems like the Rob’s story resonates strongly with many people’s experiences. For us in the research team this is important and reassuring, not just for validating the research itself, but also because we try to be careful to honour the trust and time that people have put into supporting our work.
Looking ahead, the research team will now slow down the data collection and focus on analysis, and on writing of papers for publication in scientific journals. The post-show mini-survey is still open, but will close on 15 July so if you have not yet shared your reflections, now is the time!
But… what about that second tour??
As previously mentioned, we have secured additional funding for another round of ‘Unruly’ shows – which is really exciting! There are some practicalities and logistics to work out, but we are working closely with our Empatheatre partners and as soon as there is a plan in place we will share it here. So stay tuned!
The extra funding will also cover the production of a video version of the play that we will make publicly available, and a documentary about the research project. Filmmaker Odendaal Esterhuyse (who some of you met as he was filming some of Andrew’s performances) is helping us with this and is currently looking for residents who might want to be interviewed. If you are keen to take part, please get in touch by sending an email to unrulynatures@gmail.com.
Unruly Natures Project 