In 2016, I was invited to go to Gobabis, Namibia on a working visit as an independent artist and theatre-maker for the first time. I had thought it would involve a one-off theatre performance with and for the school children there, but in the meantime, at the request of the Governor of Gobabis, I have been working for 4 years on setting up a pilot project for an after-school arts and theatre programme for the children who live in Epako, the adjacent slum.

The project in Namibia unexpectedly became so big and extensive that it was the immediate reason to do my Master’s. Pending developments in Namibia and COVID-19, the project had been postponed until September 2021. Therefore, with this research I for now focused on ‘SKRRT Noord’, a project for girls that I have been running in Friesland since 2018. I researched whether I could let the girls tell their own story through dance and theatre and whether I could facilitate more trust (in each other and in me) and safety in the group. I wanted the girls to put less time and energy into ‘mean girls’ behaviour, and to encourage them to develop and express themselves. The Theatre Workbook that I wrote and illustrated especially for the Namibia project also contains exercises and techniques that I worked with during ‘SKRRT Noord’. Making that in conjunction with my thesis has helped me to better investigate my method and measure the results.

Participative Drama originates from the Theatre of the Oppressed (T/O) and largely coincides with this. It is an analytical method that enables people to try out actions within the fiction of the theatre, to eventually become a protagonist (acting individual) in their own lives. The T/O is an exercise for reality and therefore an instrument for social change. In my practice and my specific project SKRRT Noord with the girls, I see myself as the joker. A joker does not accept the oppressive structures in society but tries to change this through theatre. In doing so, they go against existing customs and patterns.