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‘On average the police in England and Wales receive over 100 calls relating to domestic abuse every hour (HMIC, 2015)’
As we all know, both books and plays are powerful mediums in highlighting difficult subjects. In this blog I will be talking about the power of theatre in truthfully portraying domestic violence, and how once highlighted, conversations can then be had.
In September 2019 I had the opportunity to work with Human Story Theatre, on their new production titled Happy Even After. I didn’t really know what to expect at the time, having been nominated by my professor. This production that I worked on was to do with domestic violence.
Before I go any further, I would like to talk more about Human Story Theatre and their work. I interviewed Gaye Poole, who is joint artistic director, on Friday via Zoom – nightmare!
Gaye Poole, who is joint artistic director with Amy Enticknap, didn’t begin in the arts industry:
‘I always wanted to be an actor. I wasn’t brave enough to go straight from school to drama school, I was caught up in being sensible. And it was mainly because I felt if I was in the wrong skin as a nurse. I was a general nurse, and then thought it was all too much to cope with I’ll be a psychiatric nurse, surely that’s easier? And of course, it’s not…I wasn’t interested in doing pre-existing plays, I wanted to write…we decided to go down the route of only doing plays about health and social care issues, and so Human Story Theatre was born from that really.’
When I spoke to Gaye on Friday, I asked her what specific social factors inspired her to create a play based on domestic violence. Their other productions, such as Dry, were commissioned but Happy Even After was different. For Gaye, she felt it was an issue that needed addressing:
‘I happened to be talking to somebody about Domestic Abuse Champions, and I thought “oh yes I definitely want to do this now” as it fits in well, as we realised we were developing a ‘call to action’ and so that could be the imperative to put it on…’
Happy Even After shows the life of two couples, Peter and Kate, and Naomi and Ash:
‘Ebullient Peter, a hard-working policeman and all round ‘good egg’ finds love a second time around with cautious Kate, an office worker who finds it hard to trust again. Ash a charming and ambitious history lecturer and caring Naomi a talented, aspiring dress designer marry on the same fateful day as Peter and Kate. We go inside their lives over several anniversaries, sharing happy and more difficult moments with them, ‘for better for worse, to love and to cherish, ‘til death us do part.’’
Human Story Theatre’s productions are inspired by human stories: ‘[Gaye] I think that’s why you’re only going to keep the humanity in it if you are connected to that humanity throughout but, yeah, it is fiction at the end of the day. I’m well aware that there are even sadder stories out there which is a constant reminder.’
The first tour was a success and was due to go on a second tour. That is until COVID stepped in.
Both Amy and Gaye are ambitious people, so over lockdown they have created a podcast of the play. There are five episodes in total, the first three being recordings of the play, with a new lockdown scene added. The fifth episode is inspirational, and is one everyone must listen to. Laura (not her real name) tells her story in this fifth episode, and her real-life experiences:
‘[Gaye] She was the one that struck me the most because it was the most horrific as she had decades and decades of abuse and her kids have all got PTSD. But she has emerged from the other side of it and she wanted to tell her story and give hope to people in this fifth podcast which she does.’
How much do you know about domestic violence? Do you know that during the first month after the lockdown, 16 women and girls were killed in suspected domestic homicides in the UK? The oldest was 82 years old, the youngest, killed alongside her mother and 4-year-old sister, was 2.
To be honest, I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t know a lot about domestic violence ,as it isn't reported frequently enough in mainstream media.
Domestic abuse is defined as: ‘an incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, degrading and violent behaviour, including sexual violence, in the majority of cases by a partner or ex-partner, but also by a family member of carer.’
It is also a common mistake to make that domestic violence doesn’t just happen to women, it does happen to men too. Unfortunately, it isn’t reported as much. For every three victims of domestic abuse, two will be female, one will be male – March 2019.
I know that this is a challenging topic but it is information that people must know. I would like to shine a light of hope through this dark information that I have given. The British government reintroduced the Domestic Abuse Bill on 3rd March 2020, and amendments have been made since. The bill will help to improve response to domestic abuse cases as early as possible and create a more effective approach to tackling domestic abuse.
I also think lockdown has made us more aware of our neighbours, more than we have ever done before. If it has taught us anything, it is that we must appreciate what we have in our lives and the relationships that are attached with that. By looking out for one another, we can be more alert to issues such as domestic violence.
I have provided a link underneath to the Human Story Theatre podcast, please do subscribe and give it a listen if you’d like to learn more.
The Gee Word
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