The Justice Syndicate
A top surgeon accused of a serious crime. Conviction would mean planned operations will not go ahead – and the evidence is far from conclusive.
The Justice Syndicate is a piece of playable theatre drawing on a jury format. It explores how taken-for-granted assumptions, intuitions and emotions influence decision-making.
Power and privilege; trust and technology; thought and action.
How will you vote?
Content warning: The Justice Syndicate contains both discussion of sexual assault and explicit description of consensual sexual activity.
The Justice Syndicate was selected for the Aesthetica Art Prize Anthology: Future Now (100 contemporary artists of 2020) and Lumen Prize (interactive art) longlist.
The Justice Syndicate is supported by Near Now, King’s Cultural Institute and London South Bank University.
Documentation film
Critical coverage
“We all cling to beliefs despite the evidence. Immersive theatre experience The Justice Syndicate aims to show why.” – The Observer, no star rating
“Compulsory for anyone who fancies themselves as Henry Fonda in Twelve Angry Men.” – The Sunday Times, no star rating
“Enthralling courtroom simulation which cuts to the heart of what it is to be an informed voter.” – The Stage, ★★★★★
“An enthralling and highly engaging experience which still plays on the mind.” – The Londonist, ★★★★★
“An innovative, incisive, and much-needed scrutiny of our attitudes” [contains spoilers], – Felix Online, ★★★★½
“UK company Fanshen’s absorbing piece of interactive theatre” [contains spoilers] – The Irish Times, ★★★★
“a remarkably astute, eye-opening piece of theatre that delicately and profoundly highlights the importance of taking a different approach.” – Miro Magazine, ★★★★
“as much a study of the interplay of individual personality and group dynamics as it is an enquiry into social and class prejudice and the inadequacies of the justice system.” – No More Work Horse, no star rating
“I’m not sure whether this is a play, event, experiment, or interactive performance. Whichever of these, it doesn’t really matter and certainly presents an interesting future for theatre.” – The Play’s The Thing, no star rating
Past dates
- 7 December 2019 @ Global Heath Film Festival, London
- 16 October 2019 @ NESTA Collective Intelligence Symposium
- 17 - 20 September 2019 @ TOMtech, Brighton
- 13 - 15 September 2019 @ Dublin Fringe
- 8 - 9 June 2019 @ Sheffield Doc/ Fest
- 14 April 2019 @ EdSciFest, The Pleasance, Edinburgh
- 11 - 23 February 2019 @ Battersea Arts Centre, London
- 9 February 2019 @ The National Justice Museum, Nottingham
- 17 - 18 November 2018 @ Ludic Rooms’ Random String, Coventry
- 10 - 11 November 2018 @ National Theatre of Scotland and GalinskyWorks’ Citizen of Nowhere
Cast and creative team
DIRECTION & DRAMATURGY Dan Barnard & Rachel Briscoe | ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE (NEUROSCIENCE) Kris De Meyer | COMPUTATIONAL ARTIST Joe McAlister | PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Ewan Samson | ADDITIONAL IDEA DEVELOPMENT Rebecca Atkinson-Lord, Chris Bone, Tom Chambers, Shireen Mula, Zoe Nicole, Theo Papatheodorou & Delme Thomas | CAST Claire Cordier, Rachel Donovan, Kerry Fitzgerald, Jon Foster, Ezra Ingleson, Oli Ingleson, Georgina Sowerby, Monsay Whitney | FEATURED EXPERTS Jan Bowden, Dr Alex Dymock