PlaGE · Playing at the Gateways of Europe: theatrical languages and performatives practices in the Migrants' Reception Centres of the Mediterranean Area

Playing at the Gateways of Europe: theatrical languages and performatives practices in the Migrants' Reception Centres of the Mediterranean Area

PlaGE project studied the theatrical and artistical practices performed by asylum seekers in Reception centres and informal camps of the Mediterranean migratory route. In these places, neither inside nor outside European borders, the use of theatrical and performative language emerges sometimes spontaneously, sometimes in an organised way. Songs, dances and improvisations are common even on the rescue boats of the Mediterranean Sea. The overall objective of the project was to explore the performative practices in transit migration contexts, by applying an interdisciplinary methodology at the convergence between Performance Studies and Social Sciences, in order to study their aesthetical, social and political impact. The research focused on two crucial transit-countries of the Mediterranean migratory route: Italy (which hosts most of the Mediterranean Reception Centres) and Morocco (an important traffic junction of South-Saharan migration). PlaGE adopted a strategical Euro-African perspective, by training, researching and developing an intense networking activity between the two continents, which enhanced the impact of the research at system level. PlaGE mapped the theatrical activities performed by asylum seekers during Transit Migration, considering their characteristics (organisation, duration, funding, objectives, performative languages, approaches and techniques). It examined four case studies, analysing the aesthetical and political framework of the practices, the social impact on the territory and on the condition of the asylum seekers (improving confidence, language, communication, mental health, gender role, employability, intercultural understanding). The project adopted an experimental methodology combining participatory methods and art-lead techniques of Performance Studies and Social Sciences, involving researchers, artists, activists and students in developing and sharing knowledge through performances, workshops and public meetings. The practice-led approach (PAR Performance as Research) was carried out in collaboration with two theatre groups working in migratory contexts. The interdisciplinary and intersectoral approach provided a comprehensive understanding of the performative practices in transit migration contexts, considering the role played by migrants and their relationship with local associations, professional artists, and political activists, in particular the strategies of self-representation and authorship, the dynamics of appropriation and agency. The project achieved the main objective of creating a coherent analysis of how theatrical and performative practices arise as a complex and vital political resistance to react to spatial segregation, racial discrimination and labour exploitation.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union