*London premiere

Made possible thanks to the support of Gaia Art Foundation.

In the London premiere of Liz Magic Laser’s Political Therapy workshop, Primal Therapy and meditation techniques will be used to elicit connections and conflate personal experiences with political beliefs. Laser has enlisted drama therapist and actress Louise Platt to guide participants through activities that facilitate the expression of frustrations related to Brexit and other current events.

Developed by Arthur Janov in the 1970s, Primal Therapy was a radical approach that involved abreaction, the cathartic re-experiencing of a traumatic event. Laser adapts this palliative method of clarifying emotional expression into effective communication, offering it as a means toward embodied political discourse. Therapeutic props such as pillows and stuffed animals based on political party logos can be hit or embraced in Laser’s version of political Primal Therapy.

Similar workshops have taken place at Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York, in advance of the 2016 presidential election and in the UK before Article 50 was initiated at Grand Union, Birmingham. Forthcoming workshops will take place at CAC Brétigny between the first and second round of France’s presidential elections and at Jupiter Artland Foundation, near Edinburgh, where participants will address the debates surrounding Scottish independence.

With thanks to Jupiter Artland.

Image credit: Arron Leppard