Claudia Marinaro, a scriptwriter for a play that deals with a conversion to Islam within an atheist Dutch family, explores how theatre can challenge prejudices
Theatre only comes alive in the presence of an audience: it depends on an interaction between someone who tells a story and someone who listens and watches.
It seeks to provoke an emotional and intellectual reaction, and as such it is an inherently political medium. It is also an art form entirely based on the concept of change. Plots are set in motion by an alteration in the characters’ circumstances, and their story can’t come to an end before the characters have changed too.It seems then that drama is a particularly appropriate tool to bring about change in society. This is the premise that led director Annemiek van Elst to found And Many Others. This theatre company is dedicated to telling stories overlooked by mainstream media and aims to create social change by fostering understanding and compassion.
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Becoming Mohammed, the company’s most recent production and one which I wrote the script for, was inspired by van Elst’s experience of coming to terms with her younger brother Maarten’s conversion to Islam while in his late teens.
As the youngest member of a Dutch atheist family who had never had any contact with Islam, he shocked his parents by announcing his conversion. While Maarten’s choice first caused tension and misunderstanding, especially as everyone was confronted with their own prejudice, it also brought the family closer together.
Our intent with the show was to tell a story about a conversion to Islam that did not involve explosives
Although inspired by real events, the play is largely fictional. It deals with Islam and conversion, but it is, above all, a story about acceptance…
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