Necessary Games (ATOM Study Guide)

Necessary Games (Sophie Hyde, 2008) is an award-winning triptych of short dance films, featuring South Australia's renowned Restless Dance Theatre. Each film explores the human impulse to connect, and the complex and shifting natures of our most intimate relationships. The three pieces, co-directed and choreographed by different artists, convey in uniquely powerful ways something ineffable about the deep emotional needs we have of one another. Together, they constitute a work that recognizes and gestures towards the mysterious opacity of our motivations and drives. Necessary Games is ultimately a study of the Self in search of the Other.

The majority of Restless Dance Theatre's performers are young people with disabilities. Their skill, commitment and artistry in these beautiful films highlight how powerful dance is as a medium for those with intellectual and language disabilities: movement is the non-verbal language in which they can become fluent and skilled communicators. We need theatre companies like Restless to claim a public space for young people with disabilities. More than that, the principles underlying these fully collaborative performances hold profound implications for our ideas about inclusion, social justice, diversity and creativity.

Curriculum Links

These short films explore alternate modes of storytelling, with a focus on movement and media. They could be used in the Key Learning Areas of Art (Creative Movement), English, Personal Development, Health & Physical Education, Media and Film Studies, and would also serve well as a catalyst and adjunct in Life Education contexts. Necessary Games is suitable for all secondary school year levels, though genuine, open engagement with the material does require some maturity and concentration – this may preclude younger levels. The films work well as a triptych but could also be screened separately. Their brevity (two of the films are seven minutes long and the other is eight) makes them ideal for use in an educational setting, as they can be screened more than once, with teachers deepening students' responses from initial impressions to more considered analysis. Each film provides space for a wide variety of interpretations.