Cardboard Citizen’s ‘Benefit’ was a captivating performance that highlighted the difficulties that can accrue within the benefits system.
Within the piece they explore 3 stories that all inter link in some way, each story with its own struggle. Sanctions are explored in this piece and the testing that happens when determining what type of benefit an individual should be given.
Cardboard citizens uses Forum Theatre within their pieces which is a technique taken from the famous practitioner Augusto Boal.
I thought benefit was a really interesting piece of theatre. The stories that they told were so honest that the audience connected to them and want to help. Which worked well for the second half of the show as we, as audience members, got to participate and alter the happens within one of the stories and see if we could create a different outcome.
This created lots of discussion amongst the audience members and even some disagreements on how we should alter the scenario to benefit the character.
It was an interesting way to look at the benefit system and highlight its problems.
I left feeling like I wanted to help change this floored system as its suppose to help the individuals who need it most, not make them up through hoops and be set impossible targets at the some of the hardest points in their lives.
Benefit is a must see!!
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Bsaatmac 