Newsletter: Play Dis-what???!, our associate, Amy Rose on the ethics of disruption

Play dis-what???!

Newsletter March 2024

These newsletters have talked a lot about play, but less about disruption. This month I wanted to have a closer look at it.

Ethical and democratic disruption is rooted in collective agency, justice, and the expansion of possibility. Add some play and you activate essential imagination and creativity. At Play:Disrupt, our work seeks to create access and address inequity. We are honoured to be in the company of many others, past and present, who use playful disruption in these ways. Some examples include the Situationists’ mid-century, ‘radical’ reimagining of governing systems and geographies, the more recent, Improv Everywhere’s flash-mob style experiences that inspire kindness, invite curiosity and shift perspectives, or the interdisciplinary work of the late Pope L. that upended pre-concieved notions, through absurdist means. We create experiences that are playful, participatory, and constructive. We disrupt, not through coercion, fear or exclusion, but through shared encounters that open new ways of seeing, feeling, and imagining.

For us, play is a democratic act. It allows experimentation with different ways of relating to each other and to the world. Carnival, flash mobs, or tactical urbanism like Park(ing) Day introduce diverse perspectives into civic discourse. Like Augusto Boal’s work with Theatre of the Oppressed to ‘rehearse the revolution’ or We Can Make’s innovative approaches to solving housing challenges, disruption is speculative. We ask ‘what if things could be otherwise?’, and then work with others to explore tangible possibilities. Is it messy? Sometimes. Do we unsettle assumptions? Highly likely! But we get stuck in and do our best to co-create, actionable and sustainable outcomes.

Disruption is a powerful force. It can dismantle entrenched systems, shift cultural narratives, and make space for new ways of being. It’s by design that ‘Disrupt’ is a full half of our identity; we believe disruption is necessary. But not all disruption is the same. Recent findings from surveys of voters in seven global democracies indicate that the drift towards populism is due to a loss of faith in mainstream parties to deliver meaningful change through conventional means. The advice from analysts to political parties was to ‘disrupt or be disrupted’. And it appears they have listened, but to what ends?

While we’re big fans of questioning convention, we are increasingly troubled by the way that the language and tactics of disruption are being co-opted for questionable political gain. The impact of these activities increases existing inequalities, fuels fear, misinformation and violence, and undermines judicial processes and democratic values. Playful audacity and ethical disruption, on the other hand, insist on non-violence, care and compassion, making room for more voices, more justice, and more joy, That is the kind of disruption we stand for and work for.

Thanks for reading this far! If you want to see a video of our thaumatrope toy in action click here, or on the image above to open a short video in Instagram.

News

Activating Anglesey

Nia and Malcolm have just come back from Anglesey after a jam packed week of workshops with young people in schools and youth centres. With colleagues from Free Ice Cream, we’ve been refining ‘Happenings’ a relational map aimed at connecting older teenagers with local planning. Together, we’ve created an innovative set of symbols, that enable young people mark the places and things that matter to them in a playful, yet very tangible way. Free Ice Cream have done a deep dive into this kind of relational mapping recently, and we’re really enjoying collaborating with them and with all of our young co-researchers.

Five ways to wellbeing

We’ve also been doing workshops with children and young people in Treseifion to learn about their needs for a new playground. Our approach used five ways to wellbeing as a guide to their input. We’ve been so impressed with how responsive and engaged they’ve been and look forward to passing on their needs to the playground designers.

What if they ask for a swimming pool?

Watch for our ‘think piece’ that reflects on adult’s fears of engaging children in placemaking. It will be published on 4 April as part of Glasshouse Community-Led Design’s Sharing Space series. In it, Malcolm and Amy explore the brilliant creativity that children and young people bring to built environment consultation or co-design processes, and offer some ways to honour and integrate their big, bold dreams.

And speaking of pools…

We were chuffed to see this BBC report that Hilsea Lido in Portsmouth may be ready to open to the public in the autumn. We had a great time playing and talking with children and young people from the area in 2022, to understand their views about the future of this beloved, civic amenity. Here is a shot of Malcolm with some of the participants.

Upcoming

Toolkit Launch coming soon!

Play:Disrupt has been working over the winter with Anglesey Council’s Supporting Families Unit to develop a toolkit for engaging children and young people in creating play spaces. Launching in May, it will offer useful information, activities and resources for community groups and organisations who are engaging children and young people, informed by Play:Disrupt’s experience with interactive, play and arts-based methods. Watch this space!

Also on our radar

John Fox MBE 1938-2025

We were sad to hear that John Fox, founder of the influential theatre company, Welfare State International, died earlier this month. As a print maker and theatre director, he was a huge inspiration for many people working in outdoor performance, celebration and community arts. The company was known for building long-term relationships with the communities they worked with, and drawing strong ties between people, story and place. Central to their work was sharing skills and ideas, whilst bringing ‘magic’ to the everyday. He will be long remembered. (photo by Ged Murray, Ulveston Lantern Parade)

OK to Play

Do you want to feel more at home beyond the walls of your flat or house? Do you want children to play out where you live? OK to Play is an creative arts-based research project for people of all ages living in Barton Hill, Bristol. Bristol outdoor arts and play facilitators Amy Rose and Jenny Sanderson, alongside Researchers from the University of Bristol, are looking to meet curious adventurers; households with at least one child of primary school age. We want to explore together the conditions that support resident-led, playful, social neighbourhoods, and take fun, gentle steps towards making these hopes a reality. Want to learn more? Join us for a walk in May during Bristol’s Walk Fest or email grp-oktoplay@groups.bristol.ac.uk with any questions.

The Bristol Community Festival is on!

From 22 March to 5 April 2025, T he Bristol Community Festival, will be showcasing inspiring social action and community-driven work happening across the city.

A House of the People

We’ve just seen this example of non-violent disruption. The House of the People are calling for a new democratic body, positioned to replace the House of Lords. Based on a sortition process, it would activate proportionate representation made up of local, neighbourhood-scale assemblies. We are watching with interest.

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We are eager for this newsletter to inspire thinking and doing around the topics that are important to you. Please contact amy@playdisrupt.com there’s anything you’d like to see covered here— maybe we could do a ‘reader’s questions section! Why not?

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Newsletter: Play Dis-what???!, our associate, Amy Rose on the ethics of disruption

Here are some of our highlights from 2024 Newsletter December 2024 “It was great to engage with children with special education needs and disabilities (SEND) and their parents and carers, about the Diana Memorial playground. By watching them play, we learned so much specific detail–what

Jenny April 8, 2025