A new Art Director

The national theatre in Lisbon has a new art director. I learned this from my stepdaughter who's an actress with ambitions to one day stand on that stage herself. Having gotten off to a good start, her dream may well come true, so it was with more than a passing interest that she read the news. Making it all the more relevant, she happened to have discussed the candidates with her colleagues back when the opening was first announced.

All of her colleagues at the time were well established actors, and they all agreed that one of the candidates would be an absolute disaster. As it happens, that candidate is the one now announced as the winner.

This came as a shock to my stepdaughter, and I'm sure her colleagues are as dismayed as she is. However, I would have predicted this outcome based on what I wrote on this blog almost two years ago.

The worst candidate for any public position is by far the most likely to win because every aspect of public life has become thoroughly corrupted by a desire to control and humiliate. It's all about power, and nothing says power quite like humiliation. That's why the new art director for the national theatre is the least liked candidate. He is sure to degrade and humiliate the actors with repugnant pieces of avant-garde nonsense, dressed up as somehow edgy and progressive. This will be equally distasteful to the audience, who will be shamed into liking it, or otherwise risk being labelled homophobic and intolerant.

But this has nothing to do with tolerance or open mindedness. Portraying gay people as clowns, and pretending that infantilism is somehow intelligent, is not about breaking down barriers. None of this serves any morally upright purpose. There's no sensitivity or subtlety about clownish vulgarities. On the contrary. Such portrayals do more harm than good towards the people being portrayed.

The only real purpose of this is humiliation. Those in power get the pleasure of humiliating both the artists and the paying public, as well as the tax payers who are forced to pay for this even if they don't intend to go and see any staged performances. On top of this, the performances are likely to sow seeds of resentment and hate. It's a win win in all respects as far as power and control is concerned. However, it's a great loss to the rest of us who would rather go and see something beautiful, sensitive and thought provoking.

My stepdaughter