Things We Do Not Know – A Workshop Performance
If someone asked you to tell them something you did not know, what would you say? Would you answer about the weather? Winning lottery numbers? What you are going to have for dinner next Friday night? I can probably tell you one thing it wouldn’t be though; and that is about the work and lives of Bristol’s street sex workers.
Sunday 19th of July, I had the pleasure of taking part in a workshop performance entitled ‘Things we do not know’ by the talented Process Theatre group. Process Theatre is a group of female artists based in the UK; the group works to together to provide performance-based art with a community focused ethos in the work they produce and how they produce it. This performance was particularly special as it had been adapted to the medium of Zoom to be performed as part of the Tramshed’s digitally charged festival. It has been performed several times previously in different settings. The ethos of the group could not be clearer as they tackled a hard to listen to subject of street sex work; the aim of the show being to bring the experiences and feelings of those women who work in Bristol, to those who don’t. To open up the topic of discussion and normalise the conversations that need to happen.
I was immediately impressed with the theatre group upon logging into the performance, the level of understanding of inclusion was impressive. As an audience we were talked through the functions of Zoom to ensure an optimum viewing experience, and very caringly informed of the trigger warnings and that the content we were about to watch and hear could be very upsetting. I believe this is incredibly important for the digital age and it was tackled wonderfully. Audience participation was encouraged and we had been emailed beforehand to bring things with us in order to take part. All participation was optional and inclusive and I felt comfortable and confident enough to take part even within a ‘zoom’ full of strangers. The show opened with a transcript of a reddit chat, of a man talking about a casual sex and paying for sex. It was a stark look into the world we have built on the internet, it shocked me I think to see how quickly the portal to prostitution was opened and I realised all the things that I did not know. Every story and interaction within the show was based on real life stories and events, and the statistics of 150 woman who were spoken through the charity ‘One 25’.
Combing monologues and sound bites and asking the audience to switch between gallery and speaker view, the performance was eery and yet humbling. I was captivated instantly by the use of solo and chorus voices, it was a seamless performance and I while I knew I was in my own home, I couldn’t help but feel that I was somewhere else. I learnt a lot about the emotional impact that street sex work can have and I realised that my preconceptions of what street sex work is and why people do it isn’t always black and white. I realised this after hearing stories of women being turned down for jobs because they have a criminal record as a result of their street work. If I have my own preconception of what street sex work is - I can only imagine what employers would think when they have never been in a situation desperate enough to need to work the streets. They seem to judge these women solely on a DBS Check and that simply isn’t good enough. We need to work harder as a society to accommodate people into the life people dream for themselves and the way that process theatre group address this imbalance through the collective experience was straightforward, but made you realise the injustice immediately.
The whole experience was new for me and an experience I am extremely pleased to have taken part in. It made me realise how much work as a society we have to do to stop the most vulnerable in society falling through the cracks and it is charities like One 25 and the collaborative work of community theatre groups that bring this to the forefront of our attention. I believe the end of the show was the most humbling for me – I was asked to wash my hands as I listened to a monologue of a woman who had been to jail on various occasions and was now out and making a new life for herself. I listened to the words, that told us the first thing she was going to do when out of jail was buy herself some nice hand soap and toiletries, and here I was, washing my hands with something this strong woman considered a luxury. I was embarrassed and for the first time in a long time, I had to check my privilege. It was these small parts of the show that really hit home and made you think about the situations these women live in, day in and day out. The last thing from this speech really struck a chord however and to me it embodies the whole performance and ethos of the show.
“If you can be that little seed, don’t underestimate what you can do.” – Nina
A wonderfully engaging and thrilling workshop performance that I was very appreciative to take part in and be humbled by. Thank you to the Progress Theatre group and the charity One 25 for all the hard work that this show has embodied.
You can find out more by going to the Things We Do Not Know Facebook.
Written by Melanie Smith
Melanie Smith is a writer from Ebbw Vale, South Wales. She is currently writing a novel inspired by Welsh folklore and studies at the University of South Wales