Dramaturgical Practice: 'My Two Blankets" Creative Development 1

Dramaturgical Practice: 'My Two Blankets" Creative Development 1

From 24th to 28th of June 2024 David Fenton undertook professional dramaturgical practice in collaboration with key creatives of Shake and Stir theatre who were adapting “My Two Blankets” into a touring theatre work originally written by Irena Kobald, adapted for the stage by Shake and Stir Co-Artistic Director Nelly Lee. The dramaturgical practice proved essential as the work involved a true story of a Sudanese girl who was referenced as a refugee by a local Toowoomba based girl – who then proceeds to teach her English. The blanket operates as a metaphor for the comfort of the refugees original language and the adoption of a new blanket of language in a foreign land. The work has been translated into 32 languages and was first written in 2008. The first draft proved deeply problematic as there was no equal language exchange through peer learning in the book or subsequent first draft. As such the works colonial politics were not addressed. Rigorous dramaturgical analysis and provocations throughout the creative development week alerted the creative team to the necessity of a de-colonial gesture necessary in the adaptation of the story for audience in 2024 and onwards.

The result of my dramaturgical practice / provocation was the beginning of negotiations with the new Yazidi refugee community in Toowoomba (a specific non-Muslim indigenous population specific to Norther Iraq and the Turkish border). The cultural consultation with these community stakeholders commenced swiftly and formed the basis for a second draft of the script currently in progress. As such the de-colonial gesture so important to the political justify the story in 2024 was swiftly acted upon after dramaturgical intervention. I look forward to solidifying this in my next dramaturgical practice in November 2024 for Creative Development 2 as the Shake and Stir have not had much experience with sensitive CALD consultations and capacity building. However, they have taken to the demands of the script and the CALD consultation with great enthusiasm.