Belarus Free Theatre – Trash Cuisine
Waterboarding and Interactive Voting – an interesting mix!
Over the years we’ve supported thousands of different events but last month was the first time we have provided interactive systems for some (simulated!) torture and executions, as part of a harrowing piece of political theatre called Trash Cuisine organised by Belarus Free Theatre, a company banned in their country of origin.
The play centres on the death penalty in all its gruesomeness, and effectively puts capital punishment on trial itself. The keypads were used, in conjunction with live voting over the internet, to ask the audience about their views on capital punishment, and also to involve them in a mock trial based on true events.
The immersive and very direct portrayal of some very graphic scenes made it impossible for the audience to feel disconnected from the subject matter. Clever juxtapositions played with popular opinions and challenged views on what is a brutal process. It was, in short, a very different event to the ones we normally attend.
"We were very happy with the feedback system - it worked very well and the whole event was very thought provoking."