JUSTITIA! IDENTITY CASES

Can it be an advantage to belong to a group that faces discrimination? For some jobs and subsidies, yes. But matters become heated when people from the majority community claim to be part of a group facing discrimination. Is that a case for the courts? Or the online pillory? And what is at stake in the theatre? Four activists discuss these questions in a fast-paced show about the relationship between theatre, court and social media.

A tweet reveals an Indigenous activist to be a white woman from a rich family. Is she allowed to claim to be something she is not? Not only did she deceive the Indigenous community, she also received grant funding that was earmarked for marginalised voices. ‘JUSTITIA!’ looks at what is and is not fair in a variety of show formats such as a court-room drama and a musical, in a TV news feature and in Twitter posts that bombard the audience from video walls. The performers continually swap roles: sometimes they will appear as activists, then as court-room figures ranging from the accused to the judge. What is real in all this, and what is only fiction?

At least the case of the fake Indigenous woman appears to be clear. But what about the activist, a trans man, who applied as a woman in a process that had a female quota, even though his transition was complete? And if gender boundaries are gradually dissolving, does the same apply to race? This is a show with no easy answers. And that’s why identity politics have rarely been as much fun as they are here.