Exploring consent through theatre, creative writing and dance

Natasha Richards and Gemma Connell are current PhD students who are both interested in how performance can be utilised as an effective tool for exploring issues of consent. Natasha works more specifically with young people and theatre, providing relationships and sex education through workshops and performance, while Gemma uses dance and spoken word in working with survivors of gender violence, stroke survivors and those with disabilities and mental health conditions.

After meeting at the CHASE Feminist Network Annual Conference in 2019, they realised that they were exploring similar topics through their respective practices in theatre and dance. They decided to team up to deliver a one-day workshop exploring the so-called “blurred lines” of consent through participatory exercises including theatre, dance and spoken word. The workshop aimed to open discussion around every day issues of consent, including “banter” and potentially problematic parental guidance, and how these could lead to wider issues of sexual harassment, sexual violence and victim blaming. 

GEA invited Natasha and Gemma to share a little bit about the experience…