Books Once Read Make A Good Bullet Proofing (2007)

Terrorist karaoke performance with the teenagers

Books once read make a good bullet proofing explores our ideals and beliefs, with all their inherent contradictions and paradoxes. It is inspired by the butt-end of the protest movements of the mid ‘70s, in particular the kidnapping of Patty Hearst by the radical political organization the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).

The performance brings together pre–recorded video material and live action. By reproducing the original statements of the revolutionary group and its victim, the performance takes the shape of a peculiar “terrorist karaoke.”

While a group of thirteen year olds act out elements of the Patty Hearst story, adults recorded on video seem to be attempting to learn their “roles.” The combination of the children’s unaffected performances and the political statements they are re–enacting brings about an uneasy tension through which our own preconceptions are questioned.

Cast And Credits

Concept, regie: Sanja Mitrovic
. Dramaturgy: Desiree Delauney
. Sound designer: Vlada Rakic. Performers: Sanja Mitrovic, Kiefer Brink, Carlotte Dessauvagie, Charlie de Graaf, Christel Havers, Nienke Krabbendam, Dolf van Langelaar, Petra van Leeuwen, Annick van Oosten, Emily Yakobi, and Jet Zantvoord. Artistic advice: Borut Separovic. Thanks: Boris Gerrets, Sharon Hayes, Marianne van Kerkhoven, Sinisa Mitrovic & Phil Collins, Carina Molier, Vladimir Tupanjac, Slobodan Vujanovic, Jeugdtheaterschool Zuid-Holland, and all performers’ parents for their kind support. Special thanks to: Gerardjan Rijnders, Henk Scholten, Annemiek Verdoorn, Moniek Toebosch, prof. dr. C. W. Maris, and prof. D.B. Nieborg. Extracts: ‘Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst’ by Robert Stone. Sources: ‘Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) Screeds #13, 16, 20 & 29’ by Sharon Hayes, ‘The Weather Underground’ by Sam Green & Bill Siegel, ‘The Raspberry Reich’ by Bruce LaBruce. Photo: BulletProof

Production: Gasthuis theatre, Amsterdam, 2007.