(Article Written 2010 for OASES)
“WELCOME TO MY SPACE OF FREEDOM"
XRIS Reardon, the Artistic Director of Third–Way Theatre (www.thirdwaytheatre.org) is currently in Santiago, Chile, running theatre workshops. Workshops are taking place within one of the medium security prisons for men and a psychiatric day centre. In addition to facilitating theatre workshops Xris is also involved in a learning exchange, evaluating the use of theatre, and community murals, as tools to generate public discussion highlighting issues such as femicide and Domestic Violence.
Xris is collaborating with a Chilean theatre company that has been work in the medium security prison system for over 8 years. Funding neither has been or is always found, none the less, the company has remained committed to “showing up”. This continuity has meant that come rain, cold winds or extreme heat, lock downs, strikes etc; the work of the company has continued with the same people over a number of years, and in ways; “that have caused real impact on participants, their families, prison guards and the Chilean Prison Ministry”.
During the time they have worked inside the system: “where anything can happen at any time”, they have been given unprecedented ‘permission’ for “the participants” to perform ‘outside, at a National theatre festival. The companies repertoire includes well known International works by Dario Fo, as well as original works, collaboratively written by the participants which include: “Trial in the great forest” a children’s play raising awareness about our role in protecting the environment, as well as a radio-play on gender violence.
For more info on this article or to find out how you can donate ($25.00 Australia dollars gets one of the theatre workers to the prison – 45min form town – for over five weeks). For more info on the work of the above theatre Company contact inquires@thirdwaytheatre.org.
Background on the prison system in Chile:
Since October 2003, the prison population in Chile a country of 16 million people rose from 38,266 to 53,482 inmates. This rise in the prison population was largely due to what has been deemed more effective “law enforcement procedures”. The SantiagoSur Preventive Detention Centre in the capital, built in 1843, has a capacity for 3,170 inmates, currently holds 6,690
Overextending the system has major implications on prisoners and prison culture (guards included). Issues such as overcrowding in cells that normally have no natural or electric lighting except for what filters in through a very small barred opening, lack of toilets that leave prisoners dependent on the goodwill of the guards, lockdowns that have been know to take place for up to 15hrs i(n these overcrowded cells with limited ventilation and light), combined with Issues of sanitation and hygiene compound in some prisons as a result of an intermittent supply of drinking water all added to the degradation of human rights.
In addition to the above conditions, within the prison system there are also a general lack of policies and plans for the rehabilitation of the inmates, as well as a lack of work and educational, sporting, spiritual and recreational activities. The seriousness of the problem is seen to demand urgent and "creative" solutions that go beyond waiting for necessary "prisons being built or still on the drawing-board" to be finished. This is a choice that is deemed to be "unacceptable."
Within this context it is not easy to underestimate the value of how the theatre group, “is a space of freedom”,
Most of the above data is taken from IPS 06/08/09
