Roehampton staff have been taking a more modern approach to training on diversity and equal opportunity issues by engaging in a play covering the themes of diversity and leadership, with a particular emphasis on race.

The university is committed to promoting diversity and practising equality of opportunity and, following the revision of its diversity and equal opportunities policy, decided to take a fresh look at awareness raising and training of staff in relation to these issues. The Garnett Foundation was brought in to perform Crossing the Line, a play that was commissioned for the Race to Train project.

It has been deliberately designed to be provocative, expressing a number of messages, and so provides a non-threatening medium for exploring attitudes and behaviours.

The play was developed in South Yorkshire as a response to the Macpherson report, particularly commissioned by the police.

It uses a technique called forum theatre, a very powerful way to get issues aired in a "safe" environment.

Actors play the beginning of a scene to raise an issue. The audience then directs and scripts their own particular actor in groups within the scene to say what they think and feel would be appropriate to happen next.

Staff found it a valuable way of learning about diverse problems, providing an open and frank depiction of issues and prejudice.

It acknowledged problems in a clear and sometimes disturbing way and many felt that it clearly presented the complexities involved in learning to live with diversity and without discrimination.

Human resources assistant director Alison de Lord said: "We believe we are the first university to take this innovative approach and we hope to develop the approach further in the future."

January 30, 2003 10:00