Following the acclaimed Bullet Catch in The Shed, Rob Drummond returns to the National Theatre in August with a new show about democracy. The Majority charts Rob’s journey as he navigates the Scottish Independence Referendum, Brexit, Trump… and whatever today brings. Each audience member will be given a voting pad in order to vote ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on questions posed throughout the play. Every night will be different, depending on the majority.
Speaking about the play Rob Drummond said ‘I started work on this play three years ago as a reaction to the Scottish Independence Referendum in 2014 and it has gone through more drafts than any play I have ever worked on, largely because the world kept changing. The Majority is about ideas. How do we communicate our ideas effectively? How do we best decide what is right? And what happens when 49% of us disagree?’
Throughout The Majority the audience will be faced with a number of challenging dilemmas on narrative, ethics and morality. They will be asked to push a button to either vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ which will ultimately affect the way the performance unfolds.
David Overend (co-director Bullet Catch) director of The Majority said ‘Working on The Majority has made me think more theatrically about politics, and more politically about theatre. While The Majority is, of course, a show about political majorities, it is also about the power and potential of the theatre audience. It asks us to form a collective, but also to be aware of those close to us who may feel differently. It is about the need to argue better, to engage in difficult conversations, and avoid the impulse to lash out. The theatre is offered as a place to play with these relationships and dynamics, and to perform the role of a political community, with all the agency and responsibility that entails.’
The Majority is at The National Theatre (Dorfman) 11th August – 28th August 2017.
