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decisions are made and by whom. I wanted to become part of the resistance at the camp rather than someone who was just there because my parents were. I’m still heavily involved with Faslane. but now environmental activism too. I got arrested at the Dalkeith Road protest in January. I was out in Iceland for a month campaigning against dams and just recently came back from the Climate Action Camp at Selby. It was amazing. but the police overreacted. ()ne beaten person
CATRIN EVANS
Catrin Evans came to Glasgow to study. In 2004 she set up political theatre company A Moment’s Peace and performed on the Fringe.
‘ln the build up to the 08 protests last year. I came across the Clandestine Rebel Clown Army. Clowning at demonstrations allows you to do things you wouldn’t do as a protester with a placard. At (18 we stood between protesters and riot police. and sang to prevent them fighting. I was between a man who wanted to kick my head in and a policeman and I had to just think. “I really believe in what I'm doing."
‘When people say you can't change things I want to ask why not'.’ If you can make small changes in the way that you live your life you know that change is possible.
‘The essence of A Moment‘s Peace is experimenting with political activity in theatre — can it be direct action'.’ What I’m interested in is recognising. demonstrating and dramatising the complexity of issues.
‘Whenever you're doing a project you have times when you‘re right on board and times when you ask is this an easy way out? Should I be on the front line?
98 THE LIST 21 880-5 Oct 2006
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ended tip in intensive care.
‘I see activism as a bottom-up approach to politics. about real people taking control of their lives and changing the way power is distributed.
'The way the media is controlled and things like the Make Poverty History campaign make it seem
easy — just wear a wristband or
vote for that party — but we need to make people see that there‘s a hell of a lot more to do.‘
www.faslane365.org
Should I be in Palestine? But there are reasons that make this important. This stuff isn‘t being done in theatre every day: we‘re trying to be on the edge of politics and it's important. It’s OK to not be on the front line all the time.’
Petrified Paradise at Arches LIVE! 26-30 Sep, £6 (£4).
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pray: to Giorgio eranl, who has given [him reason to be
JAMES (THE VACUUM CLEANER)
James is a multimedia artist and activist based in Glasgow, best known for the Cleaning Up Capitalism and Prayers to Products direct actions which disrupt high street shops. ‘There's lots of talk in the art world about taking risks but most of it‘s bttllshit. Yes. there's a personal risk when you display your work in a gallery: but you won't have the police knocking at your door. you‘re not going to be surveilled by MIS or followed by plain clothes police. which have
Catrin in rehearsal for petrified paradise
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all happened to me. ll‘ you genuinely believe in what you have to say and what you l'eel about the world you have to be prepared to take those risks.
‘A friend heard about lianclubbers. They‘d have I5 people in a queue to buy
Monopoly. buying it. running to the back of the queue. returning it and buying it again. It monopolised the queue and stopped people from buying things. l‘antasticl I had an idea about doing a party in Virgin Megastore. It was shit. It was lot‘ Buy Nothing Day 2002: three people turned tip and we got thrown out alter about a minute.
‘l've no art or activist training. I trained as a mental health patient. The difficulty isn't having the training or the ideas — it's having the conlidence to run with them. Working between art and activism is a difficult space. Sometimes I really like it but sometimes I l‘eeI paranoid and alone — insecure about whether it's the right thing or whether the more traditional eco-warrior techniques. like shutting down power stations. are the best way. But there's not just one way to create social change.
'I don‘t want people to copy what I do: I want them to create their own actions becaUse there's a lot of power in creating. It‘s about sell-organisation and autonomy. Don't wait for me to do it. get off your arse and do it yourself.
www.thevacuumcleaner.co.uk
‘.-W