Our AGON is an ongoing debate and series of events, the first of which will take place at the Scoop Amphitheatre, connected to the Greater London Assembly building on the 6th July
The Agon idea emerged from research by Teresa Hoskyns as a tool for combining theatre with public space, how we might re-create the idea of theatre as a means to public debate and as a creative response to the major issues of the day. A form of theatre that draws from the ancient Greek concept of the right of all citizens to take part in important moral, political and social argument, the notion of the Agon, comes from the Greek word meaning ‘contest’, and defines the dialectical conflict that lies at the heart of Greek theatre; a passionate clash between two opposing principles, an early proto-type for modern "forum" theatre.
Our AGON event at the Scoop theatre will be a day long event including a performance of 'Amazing!' and different debate activities. 'Amazing!' explores issues of Beauty, Fame and Celebrity and has been developed by Ash Sohoye and Mark Barrett working with young people aged thirteen to eighteen to explore the concerns of the students themselves. From this, a theme for the play emerged (relating to beauty, media pressures to conform). Chris Atkins' recent documentary 'Starsuckers' also touches upon many of the issues we had heard raised by our young people in the workshops and on seeing this the idea for 'Amazing!' was born.
We are now working to develop a series of unique public events which combines creativity and democratic debate in this important public space. We are inviting audiences from schools, theatres, campaigners and performance artists to debate and perform around the questions: what makes for real beauty? What is the impact of fame and celebrity on young people? Does the media have a responsibility to children? How?
