Diversity as a possible audience community in the sharing of the individual experience of the show ?
Following on from previous experiences linked to the Good Practice Factory, the GPF group in Bobigny organized in June 2023 a meeting with eleven collaborators around the theme identified in February: "Radicality, a long-term transformation towards diversity?"
For this first step, it seemed important to define the various terms in the proposal: "radicality", "transformation" and "diversity". Can a common definition emerge, and how can these terms be applied not only to the MC93's artistic approach but also to its day-to-day functioning ?
Thus, radicality, perceived as a form of brutality in expression, sometimes used as a synonym for extreme, is also etymologically linked, in the collective imagination, to the notion of root, of source. To be radical is to refuse to compromise and to assert oneself within one's own norm, from which one strongly refuses to deviate. For a theatre, it could refer to the notion of breaking with what we're used to seeing on a stage, the artist's refusal to compromise with his or her convictions, but also with the audience, whom it would be a matter of not going easy on. However, given the current socio-political context, couldn't radicalism lie in proposing works that, on the contrary, carry a message and a form sufficiently broad to reach a wide audience, transcending economic and cultural divides? Similarly, could diversity, rather than an addition of particularities that never form a group, be understood as a community of the audience in the sharing of the individual experience of the show ? While interesting exchanges were sparked off at this first meeting, the group quickly realised how sensitive these subjects could be to each individual's intimate values and to more defensive positions likely to create tensions. Mediation therefore seems necessary.
Over the next few months, the GPF group is planning to do four or five presentations by inviting each time intellectuals, researchers, authors and other contributors who will propose fields of exploration and tools for collective discussion on these various subjects. Around 15 participants from the house will be invited each time. Eventually, an internal protocol will be put in place to prevent and report inappropriate behaviour and comments relating to diversity issues.