Dissent: a game of choices and morality

For five days in March, Dissent, an event exploring morality and social conditioning, will take over North Melbourne’s Arts House.

The show was created by Māori storyteller Daley Rangi, who “generates anti-disciplinary works investigating injustice and speaking truth to power”.

During each show, four strangers will join Rangi in front of a live audience, roll a dice and make a series of escalating and uncomfortable choices.

Rangi said that Dissent “explores ethical and social dilemma”, where players were faced with situations “that bring them into conflict with forces of authority and their own morality”.

The artist, who is in residence at the Sydney Theatre Company, said that the show was about “everyday activism and the choices we make hour to hour”.

Arts House access advisory member Jonathan Craig said that Dissent flipped the script on traditional tabletop games.

“From the outside, it seems like tabletop games are all about escapism. You imagine yourself in a more dramatic world as a more powerful person. I love how Dissent flips the script, gamifying the familiar,” Craig said.

The game enthusiast and writer is also curious how players will “respond to difficult decisions in the everyday”.

Arts House acting artistic director Olivia Anderson said, “Dissent is a provocative and imaginative new work about how our choices shape our environments and ourselves.

We look forward to seeing who is game enough to come and roll the dice.”

Dissent will run from March 20 to 24 at Arts House, 521 Queensberry St, North Melbourne. •