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Amici Dance Theatre Company
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Artistic Director : WOLFGANG STANGE
Patrons
Sir Ben Kingsley
Dr Peter Nixon FRCP
Mr Julian Crouch
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'Amici affirms life, creativity and the power of compassion'
Clement Crisp (Financial Times)
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AMICI
IN
EGYPT
by
Wolfgang Stange Artistic Director AMICI Dance Theatre Company
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'Goha Tales Revisited - Theatre for all'
When the British Council approached AMICI to be part of a pioneering theatre project to create an inclusive theatre performance with a number of Egyptian organizations, who like AMICI, believe in the creative potential of its members with disabilities, there was only one answer we could have given.
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The first meetings
between the parties only endorsed the view that
the sharing of expertise in this field would be
beneficial to both parties.
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AMICI with its track record of initiating the
development of inclusive theatre in Britain, Sri
Lanka and Japan, saw this as another opportunity
to learn from the local people about their
cultural heritage and identity.
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For our Egyptian partners it was a unique opportunity to
experience the development of a theatre piece that
emerged from the contribution made by the participants
during the workshop period.
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Supported
by our technical team, they learned how this can then be
made into a performance of professional quality.
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In the June
discussions I requested from our Egyptian partners to provide me
with some Egyptian folk tales that would help us to find a focal
point. When I received the Goha tales, anecdotes of the 'Wise Fool',
I found it difficult to visualize how these short stories could make
a strong theater piece. Only after reading them again, I grew very
fond of the Goha character as he was full of compassion. What
attracted me even more, that he applied his own logic to situations,
which would be viewed by the majority as being not 'normal'. However
from Goha's point of view, it makes of course total sense.
I saw strong
similarities between the Goha character and people with 'learning
difficulties', who experience the world and all its complexities in
a much simpler less complicated way and their logic is based on
this. Having a new insight
to the stories I was able to use the essence of the Goha character
to build up the story. Goha's journey, as it turned out. Goha's zest
for life, his compassion for a beggar woman in the bazaar, Goha not
giving up on humanity after an attack on innocent lives and Goha
creating a moment of equality, for the physically restricted in the
last dance helps us to understand Goha's compassionate character.
Maybe instead of imposing our 'way', we should try and learn from
the people who use Goha's logic and with the help of their
generosity, try and create a more balanced society.
What impressed me
most during this venture was the total respect that was shown to the
AMICI members and all the Egyptian members with disabilities.
Placing the workshop and rehearsal space into the Sheraton Hotel
helped the inclusion policy that we were pursuing. There was no
hiding of disabilities, only presenting abilities to the hotel staff
and the hotel guests. Hiring the small auditorium of the Opera House
for the performance only strengthened the already dignified way the
whole project was conceived and executed. I personally can only
salute the British Council, The Right to Live Association, Seti
Centre Caritas, Beit El Neama, Alexandria and Friends of a Bright
Tomorrow Society for their tireless work in making this pioneering
theater project such a success.
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AMICI Dance Theatre Company is a registered Charity No: 1058780
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