Vicious Circles

Instead of fighting poverty, we fight the poor.

or

Every time a factory closes, a prison opens somewhere else.

What a strange period of history this is!
What are we really doing?
Have we taken leave of our senses?

People that would otherwise have remained silent and unheard give a first-hand account of their everyday lives, their hopes and frustrations, their pain and their suffering. These portraits of their personal and social lives together form an uncompromising picture of present-day society, marked by increasing competition and pressure, structural mass unemployment, welfare cuts and the marginalising of ever larger social groups. They all suffer in one way or another because of social conditions; they are all overwhelmed by the unreasonable demands and humiliations they have to bear. Through a series of interviews, we learn about the precarious conditions that make life so difficult for them, and about which they can usually do nothing.

These poor people - especially immigrants without any income - are beset by vague fears. "Dwellers in Hell" sets out to portray their feelings, desires, fears and hopelessness in the street, in prison, in court or in a cellar in the city. The play's originality lies in the way it depicts them in all their humanity without resorting to clichés.

The play gives a voice to people whose concerns and problems would otherwise pass unnoticed. The aim is not to pity or laugh at or spurn these people, but to understand them!