Civic society can bring communities together in lots of different ways

How do we talk about the issues that concern us as people and as a society?

Many of us will speak with friends and family, but breaking out of our own inner circle can be difficult. Social media has a lot of strengths but also many weaknesses and, while it does provide forums for public debate, it doesn’t necessarily do this well.

Public participation can be difficult. It’s also important.

One unusual way to help people get engaged with the matters of the day took place in Ormeau Park last week – an interactive play, designed to get the audience thinking and speaking about housing.

Shared? was put on by Belfast theatre company Partisan Productions, in partnership with Clanmil Housing, between the 20^th and 23^rd of September, as part of Good Relations week.

Social housing in general is worth plenty of discussion as a socioeconomic matter, wherever it is located, while in Northern Ireland there are additional community issues.

Nearly 90% of local social housing is segregated yet, per the 2017 Life and Times Survey, 78% of people in NI would prefer to live in a mixed area.

Shared? took place in a Big Top circus tent, tickets were free, and a lot of effort was made to get people from perhaps the most diverse part of Northern Ireland to come and join in.

How did it work?

Interaction

Forum theatre is a great concept for exploring ideas because it truly encourages, rather than simply allows, audience participation.

Shared? playwright Fintan Brady said: “Audiences watch the scripted play once; then it is performed again whilst audience members attempt to change the course or outcome of the drama. Spectators can become “spect-actors”, make suggestions or they can simply watch and enjoy the show. When a few people do participate it becomes a very lively event.”

Actor Rachel McCabe acted as ringmaster, getting audience members involved and driving the discussions that arose from that.

Shared? follows a group of characters living in and near shared social housing development. The script itself was produced after the playwright spent a lot of time meeting housing association tenants, people who live near but not in social housing, and other stakeholders – with all these conversations facilitated by Clanmil.

Mr Brady said: “We wanted the storylines to genuinely reflect the experiences, issues and aspirations of people who live in or alongside areas of shared housing.

“Of course, people mentioned emblems and differing traditions, but a lot of the concerns were about social housing in general. Whether it’s real, perceived, or rumoured, we gathered a lot of ideas and beliefs about the housing selection process, who lives in social housing, class differences and gentrification.”

Performance

Did the audience get involved? The answer is yes.

Each performance of a forum-theatre play is going to be different but, based on just a couple of Shared? showings, themes that the audience discussed included:

Homeslessness – one audience member came forward to detail her own experience of being homeless, including that she had never heard of the common selection scheme – or “the list”, which determines eligibility for social tenantship, including by trying to measure someone’s “need” – until it affected her.

The list itself was a big topic of discussion, with many participants saying the system, as is, doesn’t really work any more.

A scene where a young care leaver needs help to operate a washing machine led to conversation about the needs and expectations placed on housing officers and other administrators. Ultimately social housing is not just about four walls and a roof, more support is required.

Another issue that came up, and will be no surprise to anyone, is the need for government investment in social housing. This is something that has broad political agreement within NI, but there are two problems.

Firstly, NI faces several competing crises at the minute, but public money is both finite and tight. Secondly, we don’t currently have a government.

Plenty of further matters emerged from the performances, too many to list – showing both that people will get involved in public discussions when the chance arises, and that this can be done in fun and creative ways.

Concept

Putting on a play is no small effort but this is a great example of how creativity can help bring people together to discuss issues in public.

In this case, it was actually Clanmil Housing who came up with the idea and drove it forwards. There should be lessons there for any organisation – be that a charity, a business, a community group or whatever else – that has an issue it wants to put in the spotlight or become the subject of community discussion.

Clanmil provides almost 6,000 homes for people across NI. The housing association believes that shared housing – i.e. giving people the choice of living alongside people from many backgrounds and traditions in neighbourhoods that are welcoming to all - is a route to a more shared society in Northern Ireland.

The housing association manages seven shared housing developments across NI and are currently promoting another two. As part of their Good Relations Programme, they approached Partisan Productions to develop the play.

Ahead of the performances, Jennie Cuthbert from Clanmil said: “We are delighted to be able to offer such an innovative approach to improving community relations which we hope will help influence future housing policy in relation to shared neighbourhoods and in general.

“The play is expected to develop over time and we hope to tour it, taking in the other locations where we manage shared housing, such as Banbridge, Crossgar, Dundrum, Newcastle and Newtownabbey.”