ABSTRACT
This chapter offers a dialogue between street activism, anarchism and the contrary forces which push the world in contrasting, often opposing directions. Doing so, it considers street clashes between liberation and social control, revelry and labour, work and play. Case narratives from recent social movements in Prague, Hong Kong, Naples and New York consider subway disruptions, butterfly protests, losing one's self, performances outside fracked gas plants, acts of civil disobedience at halls of power and play-based movement work towards transforming urban spaces into a sustainable living theatre. Exploring the workings of play and public space, each action expands ways of knowing and being. With nationalism on the rise, we are seeing a crisis of democracy everywhere. What is the relationship between the two notions – free play – and participatory democracy? Does play subvert or undermine? Can we play differently in our politics? Can we try to bypass polarization and enhance communication? Can we laugh at ourselves? How do we take the clash and turn it into a street party?
