A Journal Entry about Developing a Street Theatre Play for Amnesty Luxembourg Related to the Subject of the Intersection Between Human Rights and Climate Change

Abstract

When I wrote Street Theatre plays for Amnesty Luxembourg 15 years ago, the group I worked with was constant over three or four years. Now, I can’t keep the same participants for more than a matter of months. I’ve seen a Syrian participate drop out because he finally found a job, an Iranian participant drop out because her mother in Tehran is ill and she can’t risk having an Iranian border controller find something in her record that associates her with Amnesty International, and tragically a Luxembourger trumpet player who accompanied the song that began and ended our 2024 street play on human rights needed to drop out after a diagnosis of terminal cancer. These are all understandable reasons. The new recruits have to agree to stay in the group until we’ve performed in the city on July 1, 2025. I’ve no plans for long-term theatre projects; it is a compromise. I don’t know why people are shy about joining a theatre group that promotes human rights. Present-day Amnesty members prefer to write letters protesting unfair incarceration or to participate in women’s day or LGBTQ marches – extremely important activities, but they involve less private initiative.