Politics of Fear and Solidarity. Mechanisms in Documentary Theatre. Staging Asylum: Žiga Divjak's 6

Abstract

In the context of the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe, contemporary documentary theatre still has a potential to serve as a sophisticated political agon for an in-depth analysis of structural injustice and its causalities. Through the comparative analysis of the performance 6 by the Slovenian director Žiga Divjak and the cult film by Lars von Trier, Dogville, I examine the motive of a refugee in two different media by juxtaposing emotions of fear and solidarity. Both phenomena are ideologically highly potent: the first contributes to the rise of racism, xenophobia and restrictive politics, the latter however, if not precisely conceptualized, can further reinforce the neoliberal spectacle of suffering. The aim of this research paper was to provide theoretical framework for the use of solidarity and reflexivity when staging and dramatizing political narratives.