Another one minute manifesto, this time from our very own co-director Debbie Pearson, she of the awards and much acclaim for her solo show in Edinburgh this year, Like You Were Before. Well done to her for that, and also for this:
I believe that the world is fundamentally corrupt. And when I say the world I don’t mean our communities. When I say the world I mean institutions – any institution – because I believe that the moment that people and lives are made into something that can easily be filed away onto a piece of paper they are not people, they are pieces of paper, and pieces of paper are easy to dispose of, to disappoint, to misfile. I believe that the only truly beautiful things I own are gifts. I do not believe in buying gifts for myself. But I do believe in ensuring my own survival. I believe that advertising makes it virtually impossible to be a good person or to do the right thing – I believe we are being constantly exposed to easy options, that we are trapped in a system that does not serve human beings – not good human beings, not bad human beings, in truth it serves no one. And I believe that the people who argue that this is incorrect know that they are lying to themselves. And are not truly happy with what is easy. I believe that anything worthwhile is as difficult as it is valuable. But that this rule should not apply to the default setting of a relationship. I believe that we live in a society that is unsustainable, and that change is coming and it won’t be easy. And I believe that in light of this, nothing is more important than kindness. You will only meet so many people in your life, even if you are aware of these very big, very confusing things. I believe in caring about each other. I believe we are all at bottom compassionate people who want to build together, who want to work together, who want to care together. There is a very annoying man next to me who is challenging this belief. But I’m doing my best. I believe in doing your best. He just apologized. I believe he meant it.
If you’ve been enjoying these one minute manifestos or you’d like the opportunity to do one for yourself, then come down to our weekend at Shunt on the 9 & 10 October, when we’ll have some real flesh and blood manifestos shouted out into the night.