Democracy, Not Politics, Is at Work in ‘Fight Night’

Acclaimed Play That Wowed Audiences Worldwide Makes a Santa Barbara Stop October 15

Audience participation is part of 'Fight Night' | Photo: Courtesy

Are you counting down the days until the votes are counted? Do you need a fix, just a little more of that icky high you can only get with election coverage? Or are you stressed about the state of democracy, but can’t hear even one more political buzzword without feeling queasy? UCSB’s Arts & Lectures has the answer with Fight Night, an experiential theater piece conceived by Belgian art troupe Ontroerend Goed that shows the mechanisms of democracy at work. This show has been touring the world to superb critical reception for more than a decade, including at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Fight Night turns the audience into a micronation by inviting them to vote on the show’s presented “candidates.” Angelo Tijssens, the show’s “moderator,” calls the production a “show about democracy, not a show about politics.” Upon entering the venue, every audience member receives a voting device for answering poll questions or voting for statements throughout the show. “We don’t offer scenarios; we just ask questions. My first question is ‘Did you pay for your ticket?’ It’s a journey we embark on together,” says Tijssens. “We use the metaphor of a theater show to talk about democracy.”

As candidates are voted in and out of favor by the audience, savvy viewers may recognize the subtle redirections at work through the cunning use of nuanced, influential language and refined plucking at audience empathy. In more than a decade of performing this show, Tijssens says he is rarely surprised by the choices audiences make in their voting trends — people tend to be similarly swayed by these tactics all over the world. In that way, he says, not only is Fight Night a love letter to democracy, but it’s also a “firm warning of the tyranny of the majority.”

See (and participate in!) Fight Night at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15, at Campbell Hall on the UCSB campus. For more information, visit bit.ly/47UWC0V.