Time: Rehearsal time plus 15 minutes or more presentation and discussion
Materials: Posters and little old lady costume
This is a simple ‘drama piece’ suitable for an Assembly, which shows that prejudice, ignorance, do-gooding and putting your foot in it often go together.
Across the front of those viewing come, one at a time, several ‘protesters’ carrying posters on a stick. One poster says, and the protester carrying it shouts, ‘Down with racism’; another ‘Ban racism’; another ‘Down with fascism’; another ‘Ban communism’; another ‘Down with sexism’; another ‘Down with capitalism’, and so on.
There appears a little old lady, clearly aged and bent nearly double, with a similar poster which reads ‘Down with rheumatism!’. She is politely pushed out of the way by a strapping young man who ‘delivers the line ‘Come on old lady out of the way. You leave this kind of thing to the young men.’
There can follow a discussion (or assembly) about disregarding some people’s real needs and preferring ‘popular issues’ or about regarding the contribution made by all sections of society. It can be straightforward – the young man is all out for equality but regards himself as more fit and entitled to shout about it than a real sufferer!
This activity is for young people led by adults, or indeed any group which would find it a useful spring-board for discussion.
Reproduced with kind permission from Kidscape
Updated: 13 October 2003