swampy

The keynote lecture on the second day of the Theatre Materials conference was given by Professor Alan Read, author of Theatre and Everyday Life.

Read discussed an environmental theatre that 'placed things at the centre and us on the outside'. This would include 'things exiled to a safe haven commonly called "nature"'.

One of his slides showed Goya's picture of two men fighting with cudgels (above). Read pointed out that while the two men are engaged in fighting, they are also sinking into the swamp. He described this as 'objects objecting - simply getting their own back.'