Artistic Director Anja Meinhardt invites you to get moving with Justice in Motion

My company, Justice in Motion, is a physical theatre company — a term that’s raised quizzical looks. Is it dance? Is it theatre? Mime? Circus? And the answer is yes. It’s all of those things.

Physical theatre blends different elements of performance to create a narrative that is often emotionally charged, other-worldly, and surprising. It communicates through physicality what words fail to express. It might be a new experience for the more traditional of theatregoers — and new is what we aim for. Our perspective is fresh, edgy, and sometimes startling.

When I set up Justice in Motion only two years ago, I knew I was in for a long haul of challenging (mostly unpaid) yet incredibly inspiring and rewarding work.

It creates theatre based on true accounts of social injustice to raise awareness about these issues. We connect with partner organisations that work in these fields, and bridge the arts and activism to inspire our audience to get involved in making a real change in our society.

It’s heavy stuff, there’s no doubt about that, but our performances explore spectacle, imagination, and even humour to make an accessible leap into these important issues.

Our first full-length piece, Bound, in conjunction with Oxford Community Against Trafficking, was based on true accounts of human trafficking. We are devising our second piece, Mark of Cain, about rape as a strategy of war. We’ve hosted a script reading with the African diaspora campaign group Forward UK about female genital mutilation, as well as a film screening with Oxfordshire Domestic Abuse Service about violence in the home, and through poetry we will explore mental health with Oxford Brookes and MIND.

Here is where you come in. Our next workshop and event, in March, is part of a series we’ve launched, with support from Oxford City Council, called Just.Motion. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to invite you to be a part of this process. I hope once you read this, you will feel moved and to join in with some of the workshops, free events, and classes that we are delighted to offer.

I encourage you to join us, challenge yourself to create or act out, move, dance, and connect alongside other Oxfordshire locals.

* March 3 (6-8pm): Rape Culture in Pop Culture. Free. The Old Museum, Oxford Town Hall. Just.Motion will be joined by experts from North London Rape Crisis as we listen to songs like Blurred Lines and Baby It’s Cold Outside and watch movie clips like (500) Days of Summer and ask: Does pop culture enable rape culture?

* March 7 (2-5pm): Workshop – Capoeira, £15/£20. St Luke’s Church, Canning Crescent. Led by Professor Dourado from Abolição Oxford, we will practise this Afro-Brazilian martial art combining acrobatics, fight and dance to increase flexibility, co-ordination, rhythm, agility and speed. Beginners welcome. Booking essential at info@justiceinmotion.co.uk

For more information or to get involved email Anja at the above address.