“ . . . While Rome burns – The question of performance at the end of the world

As Part of this years Performance Studies International gathering, exploring Performance and human-rights at Queen Mary, University of London – Workshops held in MANIFESTO ROOM – 6pm to 8pm each day 14th – 18th June – see  http://www.psi12.qmul.ac.uk/ for details.


“The odds are no better than 50/50 that our present civilisation will survive to the end of the century “

Martin Rees, British Astronomer Royal. “Our Final Century: Will the Human Race Survive the Twenty-First Century?” W Heinemann, London 2003.

“Apocalypse is always easier to imagine than the strange and circuitous routes to what actually comes next”
Rebecca Solnit – Hope in the Dark, Cannongate, Edinburgh 2005.

Perhaps one of the greatest questions for human rights and performance at the moment is the threat of a generalised collapse of our present civilisation, brought on by the destruction of our life support systems. It is no longer just radical environmentalists screaming from the edges of society that are pointing out that humanity is more at risk than at any other time in history, it seems even those at the heart of the establishment are accepting the fact that if we continue “business as usual” we will experience an unprecedented global environmental catastrophe within our or our children’s lifetimes . Even the Pentagon, not known for its ecological credentials, has been publishing reports describing European cities sinking beneath rising seas caused by abrupt climate change and a future where “warfare would define human life” as “desperate, all-out wars over food, water and energy supplies” erupt everywhere . The triad perils of climate change, peak oil (economic turmoil due to oil shortages) and ecological collapse are no longer imaginary doomsday scenarios from conspiracy theorists, but hard scientific facts backed by serious research. Already climate change is responsible (according to the World Health Organisation) for 150,000 deaths every year and some predictions estimate 150 million more refugees caused by crop failures and rising sea levels.

Given the enormity of the problem, what role, if any, can performance play? Can any art form initiate the radical changes that are necessary to overcome collapse or is it time to give up cultural practices altogether and get on with building lifeboats ? Can performance provide the rebellious hope and subversive humour required to sustain struggle in these dark times ? Do radical art practices help build community empowerment needed to navigate the storms ahead or is it simply fiddling while Rome burns?

These are the questions that will be explored during the 4 sessions of the workshop. A diverse range of Artists and activists who have been deeply involved in these questions will facilitate each session.


Thursday 15th June – 18.00 – 20.00 - Aubrey Meyer - Outlining the climate of collapse – Aubrey Meyer was an accomplished musician and composer before immersing himself in ecological campaigning. He is now a leading figure in the global negotiations on climate change with his unique campaign of Contraction and Convergence ( http://www.gci.org.uk/) which is based on the thesis of 'Equity and Survival' incorporating global justice and sustainability to tackle the threat of climate chaos. Abrey's presentation will mix biography, viola playing, film and hard science.

Friday 16th June – 18.00 – 20.00 - Brian Holmes/ Larry Bogad / James Leadbetter / Hilary Ramsden - After the Carnival ? – Are carnivalesque forms of resistance still relevant given the present social and ecological emergency? – The upsurge in resistance to capitalism over the last decade has been accompanied by many inventive forms of creative and Carnivalesque protest – from Reclaim the Streets to Yomango, the Space Hijackers to The Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army. These forms helped invigorate a whole new generation of activists but many of those who were at the forefront of these movements evolution now feel that we have entered a new cycle of struggle where many of these tactics seem redundant given the state of the movements and the world. Is this the case or is there even more need for pleasure to be injected into radical politics in these dark and difficult times?


Saturday 17th June – 18.00 – 20.00 - - Kale and Heath from Irrational.org - The art of building lifeboats: should our creativity be focused on creating models of sustainable living and surviving in a post collapse world.
Radical net, real life and retired Artists and creative pranksters Kayle and Heath from irrational.org have been experimenting with ways to survive collapse, ranging from finding free food, surviving in the wilderness, and developing a series of manuals and buried survival pods. The workshop will take us on a journey into the art of living lightly on the earth and how they see these techniques and way of life as part of their creative practice of developing survival tactics in a time of collapse. (www.irrational.org)

Sunday 18th June – 18.00 – 20.00 - co-facilitated by Mark Brown - Crude Interventions – A practical workshop to brainstorm and design an audacious act of creative resistance to the causes of Climate Change. Participants will look at a particular context/event where major oil company is sponsoring culture and brainstorm different forms of intervention that could take place during it - the ideas generated from the workshop will be carried out later in the month. This workshop is part of climate change campaign groups Risising Tide’s , Art Not Oil events ( http://www.artnotoil.org.uk/) and the lead up to the Climate Camp, a large scale direct action camp taking place in the UK this summer - Aug 26th-sept 4th (  http://www.climatecamp.org.uk/)

All workshops will be facilitated by art activist John Jordan.