Like all the formats, this is extremely adaptable. Someone who is willing to be an 'over-the-top' MC/Compere is essential. Apart from that you just need an assistant who 'warms up' the audience, introduces the MC and relays answers (apparently) from the competitors.

Costumes

The MC needs to wear something really flamboyant. The one in the photo, for example, had huge inflatable breasts.

Cross-dressing is also a good option. The assistant's costume is less important.

Props

Depending on your script you might use:

A giant cardboard cheque or other 'big' prize

Flags or other symbols for the competitors

An example

The performance shown in the photo was by 'SIMPOL theatre'. Simpol (www.simpol.org.uk) campaign for simultaneous implementation of policies which would be good for the planet, rather than some countries having to go it alone.

The assistant 'warmed up' the audience by announcing that we were going to take part in a gameshow called something like "It's All About The MONEY". Every time the start of this phrase was heard we had to shout "MONEY!"

He got three 'volunteers' from the audience, who were assured that all they had to do was wave a flag. They sat on chairs at the front, each with their flag: one from a developing nation, one from a more developed nation, e.g. China, and one from a Western nation. Each time their country was mentioned they had to wave their flag.

The assistant explained that a multinational company had a cheque (huge cardboard cheque displayed) for a huge amount of money to invest in one of these countries and that they were going to compete for it.

He then built up for the appearance of the MC Gloria Cash (or similar). Huge cheers.

"We're going to play Its All About The.... (audience..) MONEY!"

The MC asked a question and the assistant put his ear close to the mouth of each contestant and (apparently) relayed their answers.

Questions (3 rounds in all I think) were like:

"How restrictive are the labour laws in your country. Can we sack workers whenever we need to?"

"What tax incentives can you offer us?"

"How strict are your environmental laws?"

The point made in a brief speech afterwards was that nations need to agree to make positive changes simultaneously, as no-one would want to put themselves at a disadvantage by going first.

Its impact and message have stayed with me for over a year.

This format could be used for any issue which involves unfair competition, between groups or nations.

Ideas anyone?

This is a report from the Simpol website of their performance at the WOMAD Festival

SP came to the One World Platform at the World Organisation of Music and Dance (WOMAD) Festival in Reading, held over the weekend 23-25 July 2004.

Simpol-theatre introduced the concept of SP. Members of the audience were called up to hold the flags of three different countries, to represent participants in the game show Who gets the money? The presenter, F.A.T. Cat, has a cheque for £300 million to invest in a factory for sports utility vehicles. Countries compete to attract the investment by making offers in four rounds: access to markets, taxes, labour conditions and environmental protection. The early rounds show how countries compete in a race to the bottom. The audience, in true game show style, cheer on the winning countries, until the show's assistant points out how conditions for citizens are deteriorating as one country is played off against the other and asks the audience to instead boo when countries undercut each other. By the last round, much to the presenter's disgust, the countries are encouraged by the audience reaction to agree to sign up to the Kyoto protocol on climate change if everyone else does and to call for an international body to regulate transnational corporations. The presenter hurriedly awards the cheque to China - "Where I was going to build my factory all along" - while the assistant encourages them to go back and re-negotiate on the other rounds.

John Bunzl then gave a talk explaining how the real world functions in much the same way as the game show and how SP will enable governments to move from destructive competition to constructive co-operation.

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