Caught Theatre... Backwards Town...

The Forge is where we can take genuine risks. When we have a dedicated studio we can develop practitioners. That is a really important step that this company (Court Theatre) has lost. We are beholden to support and develop talent, but when you are putting something on like Legally Blonde that is not in any way entry level. There are so many balls in the air that you want to go with a safe pair of hands. We don't want to throw a young director onto a big project and have them perish. That would be damaging to their career. It is a big step up.
Ross Gumbley, Court Theatre, "Christchurch musicals: Should they be more adventurous?"

​Dude. Really?

​The repeated subtext from Christchurch's big commercial (yet massively-subsidised) behemoth, continues to be that theatre simply shouldn't be - can't be - taken seriously as art - (i.e. risk-taking). Art, they say here, is something the young folk do before growing up, getting a haircut and a real job. If Christchurch is serious about being a progressive city, why would this theatre continue to be heavily subsidised to present commercial work like Legally Blonde when genuine alternatives that pursue exciting new art experiences struggle to survive?

The Court continues to push for a new big theatre as part of the proposed Performing Arts Precinct (PAP). They would continue to present musicals like Legally Blonde and Mary Poppins next door to Showbiz in the Isaac Theatre Royal who are already presenting musicals such as Hairspray and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Not only should the city pay for the new Court, the argument goes, the city should stump up for a second theatre (The Forge) for "experimental" work. However, a survey of the Forge output at the Court reveals that shows here are a slightly different shade to Court One - following the usual literary theatre style of English theatre and more known for 'theatre sports' and improv. And so people come to align experimental or contemporary theatre with improv without an awareness of the wealth of traditions and wonderful work beyond the limited scope of Anglo traditions. 

Instead of two brand new theatres, the Court should integrate the Forge programme into its proscenium-arch Court One and allow room for those companies and artists that are really taking the risks to exist alongside. If there is still appetite on the part of the Court for truly experimental work they could collaborate with others that are presenting such work in spaces such as The Gym. As said elsewhere, encouraging diversity avoids a return to the old monocultural Christchurch with clear benefits to social, cultural and economic well-being of the city:

Supporting alternatives [such as Free Theatre and The Auricle] is to the benefit of a more vibrant, diverse culture. These groups and artists push the boundaries of what is possible, providing an outlet for innovative artists and audiences of contemporary performance, building new audiences and allowing the mainstream to follow with greater room to present work that is truly contemporary. The current model for the Court Theatre is 19th century theatre, based around the reproduction of a solitary dramatic text, with a process that sees the creation of a naturalistic set, the actors learning lines (which are delivered as quickly and loudly as possible), blocking out movements and then presenting a season. The aim is to try and simulate English theatre for a conservative audience. 
 
True contemporary work tends towards the inter-disciplinary. Collaborators from different disciplines and backgrounds devise entirely new work from a diversity of texts (literary, artistic, political) or completely rethink classic works for a contemporary audience. As such, the creation of new work happens over a longer period of time and leads to unique experiences for local audiences. With theatre being the most conservative of the arts in New Zealand, the experimental or avant-garde here is seen as a space for the young to blow off steam before joining the mainstream. But cultures that truly value a diverse, vibrant urban social life see these art theatres as a key part of the ecosystem, pushing the boundaries with work that is relevant to the time and place.
George Parker, Free Theatre, "Does a new Performing Arts Precinct make Christchurch a more vibrant, diverse city?"

The co-founder of the Court, Mervyn Thompson, attempted to create a space for a new distinct New Zealand theatre - one that explores different forms to provide new and diverse experiences. Thompson was eventually rejected by a Christchurch establishment that wanted to create love-letters to Home, to create theatre as a sign of belonging to a class. In the new Christchurch though, the Court could step-up, work with others and provide room for alternatives to flourish. It could also contract more challenging directors to present diverse contemporary work in the main stage or collaborate with other companies towards a distinctly contemporary Christchurch performance culture. Since its mutual establishment in the 1970s, Free Theatre has provided a space for risk-taking contemporary artists making this a more interesting place to live - the two have extraordinary history in this city. If some of the massive national (CreativeNZ) and local (CCC, Rata Foundation) subsidies that are provided to the Court, a commercial theatre after all, were more strategically distributed to provide high quality, contemporary alternatives, this city might start to claim an identity as a progressive mover and shaker. 

​Flim Flam

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