Devoted & Disgruntled: What can we do to be better allies?

An invitation from Nemo Martin, Scriptwriter, Director & Podcaster:

We’re all theatre people, right? We’re all pretty liberal, as people go… I mean, musicals are for the Gays, we like refugees, and we don’t do that weird “squinty eye” motion at our Asian waiters... Right? We’re better than the majority of the world, right? I mean, you could say that theatre people are intrinsically born to be Allies! 

So You Think You’re a Good Ally QUIZ

1. Have you got these basics down? (tick all that apply)

[ ] – You’ve attended How to Ally 101 

[ ] – You think you could RUN Ally 101

[ ] – Your friend who’s xyz told you their backstory!!

[ ] – You know what pronouns are

[ ] – You introduce yourself WITH your pronouns!

[ ] – You read that article about how to talk to people in wheelchairs

[ ] – You’ve not said that racist word for a while

[ ] – You’re a feminist!!

[ ] – Other: _________________________

2. “PUSSY POWER”?  Y / N

3. Do any of these statements apply to you?:

a) I don’t say racist stuff and I’m a feminist, not a TERF, and I respect people’s access needs. What more do you want from me?

b) I have to learn all this PC bullshit - what’s next, people wanting to identify as ROCKS? 

c) I want to do better.

d) …What’s an “Ally”? / Can I attend Ally 101?

e) I am disabled and am always stuffed really thoughtlessly on the end of a form

I’m inviting you to this satellite because there were a lot of sessions called at Devoted & Disgruntled 13 about intersectionality, on being a good White Ally, about access provisions and, basically, on not being an asshole, and yet almost every person of colour I talked to told me about something that made them uncomfortable at the event. I spent my time at the event “visibly” transgender (I was one of the only people wearing a pronoun badge), and even so, I was misgendered. Not one ally I talked to at the event went to get themselves a pronoun badge after I’d pointed out the need for them. 

I think it might help for us to set ourselves some participation guidelines, and I’d like to try writing those together. Open Space belongs to everyone - it’s not a top-down rules-and-regs place, so it’s up to all participants, including the Improbable/D&D team, to educate ourselves and each other, to hold the space as safely as we can, to find out where we’re going wrong and to have some real conversations about fixing stuff.

So. Come along and let’s work out how D&D can be better for everyone. How can WE do better? Let’s REFLECT on & CHANGE our attitudes together, when we’re in Open Space AND in the wider world.

See you there,

Nemo Martin

This event is fully wheelchair-accessible. Please see Rich Mix's access info page for more details. If you require any additional support to access this event, for example, BSL interpretation, please let us know via the booking form, or by emailing [email protected] or by calling 020 7240 4556. You can find general access info about all our events here.