40 Dei - Friday March 6th

Two stories which we heard yesterday and have relevance to the play. Apparently in one of the prison escapes that have been the source of much debate over the last year (I don’t know which one), some teachers caught a escaped prisoner and beat him up. They invited some of their students to do the same. They then put him on a bus and someone must have called some other students further down the road to say that the prisoner was on the bus because they stopped the bus, dragged him out and continued the beating much to the consternation of three passengers on the bus. He was finally taken unconscious to the police station. It is easy to forget when criticising the recent violence by police on prisoners that many people want to do exactly the same. Violence seems to be the acceptable way to deal with many situations. With the prisoners it must be partly resentment at the fear they have caused in people’s minds when they are known to be on the run. But the growing use of mob violence is very disturbing and fuelled sometimes by people who should know better.

The second story; about 10 years ago on an island a church decided that all sin must be rooted out of the village and so adulterers and alike were beaten. One old lady was accused of witchcraft, beaten and subsequently died which at least had the effect of bringing the campaign to a close.

A big chorus scene today. The young convert, Matthew and the religious lady, Rebecca, are out fundraising for a new PA system for the church and set out for the settlement which she sees as a den of vice; children who clearly aren’t seeing enough of the ‘rod’, running raucously around and there in the corner is the group of dope smoking boys. Was planning to do it with pieces of corrugated iron, which the actors would hold and move with, changing shape from narrow lanes to tin shacks. But in the end all I could see in my mind looked like a scene from the film Gladiator with all these actors holding corrugated iron shields! So I abandoned this and instead covered the stage with clothes lines which the actors walk through. Took 3 hours to work through it but actors seemed to be able to run with it.

One of the actors playing Matthew, Betio, seems rather confused and lost at the moment and I talk to him about it at the end of rehearsals. He admits he is still a little nervous about the story. I thought this might happen. It does bear similarities to his own journey from a lad with a big drink problem 18 months ago to a teetotal very active Pentecostal Christian. The play suggests that neither lifestyle will necessarily solve all his problems. I hope he can reconcile these forces because he is a very good actor.

A real life drama was unfolding towards the end of the day outside WSB. A stolen bicycle originally belonging to someone at wan smolbag is identified, clumsily painted over and the rider is stopped. He didn’t steal it, his mates just lent it to him. The police are called, he tries to make a run for it leaving the bike behind, but is ‘held’and a few punches thrown The police arrive and cyclist and WSB staff member, bike owner, go off to the police station. It is in this kind of situation that I feel most confused. Of course the law should take its course and if the gang, who have broken in several times, can be captured, that is good but I also fear the police will kick the shit out of the lad to get the information and there will be one more embittered youth who believes more and more the language of violence is the one that gets results.