SYNOPSIS
A theater director interviews a man, a retired police officer convicted of torture, with the goal of documenting her upcoming show. She wants to understand what leads us to dehumanize others and trivialize evil. He has another agenda. We don't know if they're talking or rehearsing a scene. There's a third performer on stage: his role is to record the conversation, but as the plot progresses, he takes center stage and transforms the soundscape into another character.
This is a fictional work informed by the documentary work of Cultura i Conflicte, based on interviews with real witnesses and archival footage. The staging is based on constant experimentation and play with various languages (sound, music, gestures, and visual arts).
REFLECTION
Fear is a mechanism used by dictatorships to maintain social control. But what happens in a democracy when there is fear? Who is the enemy? Contemporary democracies have become permanent states of exception under the guise of the rule of law. Capitalism is a source of unfulfilled promises. The frustration and resentment this generates are fertile ground for simple answers to complex problems. Uncertainty and difference fuel our fears, and this makes us accept violations of fundamental rights in the name of security and the common good, even in established democracies where torture is still practiced or even proposed to be regulated.
Education, culture, conversation, and theater help us listen to those who think differently; to reflect instead of react; to understand instead of judge; and to create spaces of trust where there are now only threats. "Don't Watch" holds up a mirror to us and asks us what our limits are, how far we are willing to go to preserve our conformist lives and our security.
