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History
of Headlines Theatre Click here to Pictured left: David
Diamond, Artistic Director Headlines was founded by a group of artists(1) in 1981 out of their concern about the housing crisis. There was nothing overly different about the work at this time -- BUY, BUY VANCOUVER(2) was straight agit-prop about social issues -- but the material was re-written every day to reflect changes in the news. BUY, BUY VANCOUVER, however, played to a community audience -- reaching people who do not normally go to the theatre -- and was supported extensively by local community organizations with a direct interest in the subject matter. Vancouver's (then) Mayor Harcourt took the play to Ottawa with him to the National All-Sector Conference on Housing, as he felt it articulated the voice of the homeless in the City. We ended up performing the play to a room-full of politicians, activists and developers in the Ballroom of the Chateau Laurier. RIGHT TO FIGHT(3), a video documentary on organizing for affordable housing came directly out of BUY, BUY VANCOUVER. It has been screened across Canada, the U.S., Britain, Holland, West Germany and Cuba. In 1985, RIGHT TO FIGHT won two awards: Audience Favourite and Most Original Treatment (video category) in the National Housing Video and Film Festival in New York City. This was the beginning of Headlines involvement with television, a connection that grew into an innovative marriage of live theatre and the electronic medium. Very quickly after this exposure, things began to change for the company. Numerous communities had been watching Headlines work and people started phoning in asking the company to do theatre about specific issues. UNDER THE GUN(4) (dealing with militarism and economic development) and THE ENEMY WITHIN(5) (about the economic policy of restraint) both came out of this kind of response to community need. They were still agit-prop, but already Headlines was fulfilling a unique role in Vancouver as a professional theatre company which had constant direct input from the "real world". UNDER THE GUN was the first Headlines show to tour British Columbia (as did THE ENEMY WITHIN), and later, Canada. In 1984, David Diamond
(pictured at left) became the company's Artistic Director. While
traveling throughout Europe to visit various political theatre
companies he met and worked with Brasilian theatre innovator
Augusto Boal in Paris, France. Boal is the originator of the
body of work known as Theatre of the Oppressed. This contact
was was to mark the move away from making theatre for communities
and towards making theatre with communities. It was the beginning
of the POWER PLAY(6) work that Headlines has been forged
in Canada -- but more about that later. It David has since worked
with Boal in Orvelte, Holland; Sydney, Nova Scotia; Vancouver, British Columbia;
Manitoulin Island, Ontario; and Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.
The internationally acclaimed NO` XYA` (Our Footprints)(7)-- Headlines' co-production with the Gitksan and Wet'suwet'en Hereditary Chiefs from British Columbia melded European and Native perspectives. It was an articulation of the reasons behind the Gitksan and Wet'suwet'en land claim. It toured B.C. (1987) Canada (1988) and New Zealand (1990) and had a very strong effect on the internal philosophy of the company. Future projects, such as MAMU: THE CURRENCY OF LIFE were to come back to a world view that was articulated by NO` XYA`. Headlines' POWER PLAY work has become successful beyond anyone's wildest imaginations. Workshops are being booked up to eighteen months in advance. POWER PLAYS have been conducted with community organizations including unions, women's centres, alcohol and drug programs and school districts, just to name a few.
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