UK

Serious fun

Shifting power

Policy change

When communities are frustrated with tick-box, paternalistic, or false engagement, and when governments skirt the issue because public debate has been polarising – can stakeholders take fun seriously as a problem-solving strategy? 

In Greater Manchester, street harassment and assault of women and girls in public places had reached a crisis point. Women avoided active travel and exercise outdoors. Reports to the police weren’t acted on, and surveys by the council seem to lead nowhere. Even council members were bored by surveys! Everyone was frustrated, and some residents had nearly given up. 

In summer 2023, a group of young people and adults built a play reflecting their lived experiences, including sexual harassment at tram or bus stops and around sporting arenas; and difficulty in accessing support from the council or other authorities. These were serious topics, but the cast prioritised fun in their rehearsals as a tool for building solidarity among themselves, and for inviting strangers into the public legislative theatre process.

There were big laughs as the audience and policymakers recognised the spectacle of an intoxicated football fan leering at women; and gasps as a tram conductor insisted a woman couldn't enter the tram, leaving her to fend off a predator. The audience demanded commitments to action, and everyone present felt the power shift. One young actor said that she felt like the prime minister. 

But feeling a shift in power isn’t the only goal - it’s also the concrete changes that come from it. Local leaders campaigned for changes in the public transport authority - resulting in all transport staff receiving active bystander training, and a widespread communications campaign launched on trams and buses, calling out gendered harassment. And those young people? Some joined official advisory roles in the regional government, continuing to advocate for these changes and for creative ways of engaging residents in democracy.

Previous
Previous

Brazil

Next
Next

Zimbabwe