Exploring Agonism with Mischief: Participatory Performance in the Public Realm

The aim of this PhD research was to examine what happens when mischievous street theatre performers are deliberately agonistic in the public realm in the United Kingdom. The PhD practice-based research is contextualised by Chantal Mouffe’s political theory of agonism, and the instances in which she applies agonism to art practice (2001-2013). The research is led by the question How can mischievous and participatory performance facilitate politicised dissent? In this research, art practice is a method of research, and central to the methodology of argumentation using both theory and practice. The art practice takes the form of guerrilla street theatre.

The art practice adapts L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz because of the opportunities Oz presents to initiate and facilitate public discussions about power and conflict through the structure of a journey. In this version, Lion [the doctoral researcher Antoinette Burchill], Tinman, and Scarecrow become exiled leaders who want to return home to Oz. In order to be allowed back, they must learn how to be fair and just leaders. The only way the characters can gain this information is by asking those they meet on their journey for advice. Therefore, public participation is a vital aspect of the performance. Each character leads with the quality the Wizard gave them with in Baum’s original novel: Lion with courage, Tinman with heart, and Scarecrow with brains. Consequently, each character interprets the advice they receive from participants with a particular bias. This ensures that conflict is a potential component of every performance. Baum’s motif of the yellow brick road as a journey full of obstacles and challenges is adapted to suit strolling guerrilla street theatre in the public realm.

The guerrilla street performances were planned and developed in Spring-Summer 2015, the performances took place over one day in Hackney and London Fields, East London in August 2015. The film clips are titled as Episodes in order to emphasis the iterative nature of the street performances. Only Episodes with ethical approval from participants are included in the Collection.

Episodes 4, 8, 9, 11, and 13 were explored through argumentation, analysis and reflections on performance in Antoinette Burchill’s doctoral thesis. The practice is archived as it holds a value for other researchers, especially those examining the difficulties and complexities of agonistic art practices.

The License for all items is CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. If you wish to negotiate a different license to aid your research, please contact Antoinette Burchill directly.