Simpol-theatre
at the WOMAD Festival
SP
came to the One World Platform at the World Organisation
of Music and Dance (WOMAD) Festival in Reading, held over
the weekend 23-25 July 2004.
Simpol-theatre
introduced the concept of SP. Members
of the audience were called up to hold the flags of three
different countries, to represent participants in the game
show Who
gets the money? The presenter, F.A.T. Cat, has a cheque
for £300 million to invest in a factory for sports
utility vehicles. Countries compete to attract the investment
by
making offers in four rounds: access to markets, taxes, labour
conditions and environmental protection. The early rounds
show how countries compete in a race to the bottom. The audience,
in true game show style, cheer on the winning countries,
until the show's assistant points out how conditions for
citizens are deteriorating as one country is played off against
the other and asks the audience to instead boo when countries
undercut each other. By the last round, much to the presenter's
disgust, the countries are encouraged by the audience reaction
to agree to sign up to the Kyoto protocol on climate change
if everyone
else
does
and
to call
for an
international body to regulate transnational corporations.
The presenter hurriedly awards the cheque to China
- "Where I was going to build my factory all along" -
while the assistant encourages them to go back and re-negotiate
on the other rounds.
John Bunzl then gave a talk explaining how the
real world functions in much the same way as the game show
and how SP will enable governments to move from destructive
competition to constructive co-operation.
If
you would like to know more to reproduce the performance
contact Local Group Network Coordinator, Mike
Brady,
Photo
gallery (click on the photos for high resolution versions
for printing). For a low quality streaming video of the event
(no sound) click here (you will need RealPlayer to watch
this).
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The Simpol-UK stand in the One World Tent, where visitors
could find out more about the campaign, collect leaflets
and sign up as SP Adopters.
A set of three display boards was prepared for the event:
The Simultaneous Policy, Take Back the World and Support
for SP.
Contact Mike
Brady if you would like materials for an event you are planning. |
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Three
volunteers from the audience represent the UK, Nigeria
and China in the game show Who gets the money?
The presenter
has a giant cheque for £300 million
to invest.
|
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The
audience has been primed to shout the word 'money' whenever
the presenter uses the word. |
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One
of the Simpol-theatre team tells the volunteers when
to wave their flags and the presenter relates the offer
being made. "So China, your offering no tax on company
profits for ten years. That's a great offer folks.
Let's have a round of applause for China". The
assistant intervenes: "No that's not good. Boo!"
In the final
round"Nigeria,
you kill environmental campaigners! Let's hear it for
Nigeria!" Booing prompts calls for an international
body to regulate transnationals. |
 |
John
Bunzl, author of the Simultaneous Policy and founder
and director of the International Simultaneous Policy
Organisation links from the performance to the real world
and explains the SP strategy. |
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The
performance brings people to the stall to find out more
and to sign up as SP Adopters. |
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John
Bunzl explains some of the detail of the SP concept. |
