As the twenty-first century moves towards its third decade, applied theatre is being shaped by contemporary economic and environmental concerns and is contributing to new conceptual paradigms that influence the ways in which socially engaged art is produced and understood. This collection offers fresh perspectives on the aesthetics, politics and histories of applied theatre. With contributions from leading scholars in the field, the book illuminates theatre in a diverse range of global contexts and regions. Divided into three sections - histories and cultural memories; place, community and environment; and poetics and participation - the chapters interweave cutting-edge theoretical insights with examples of innovative creative practice that traverse different places, spaces and times. Essential reading for researchers and artists working within applied theatre, this collection will also be of interest to those in theatre and performance studies, education, cultural policy, social history and cultural geography.
1. Applied theatre: ecology of practices Jenny Hughes and Helen Nicholson; Part I. Histories and Cultural Memories: 2. Toward a historiography of the absent: on the late pasts of applied theatre and community performance Baz Kershaw; 3. A pre-history of applied theatre: work, house, perform Jenny Hughes; 4. Applied theatre and cultural memory in East and Southeast Asia Wan-Jung Wang; 5. Dear Nise: method, madness and artistic occupation at a psychiatric hospital in Rio de Janeiro Paul Heritage and Silvia Ramos; Part II. Place, Community and Environment: 6. Performing location: place and applied theatre Sally Mackey; 7. Peacebuilding performances in the aftermath of war: lessons From Bougainville Paul Dwyer; 8. Applied theatre and climate change in Bangladesh: indigenous theatrics for Neoliberal theatricks Syed Jamil Ahmed; 9. Applied theatre and disaster capitalism: resisting and rebuilding in Christchurch Peter O'Connor; Part III. Poetics and Participation: 10. Applied theatre and participation in the 'new' South Africa: a possible politics Mark Fleishman; 11. Staging labour rights D. Soyini Madison; 12. The micro-political and the socio-structural in applied theatre with homeless youth Kathleen Gallagher; 13. A good day out: applied theatre, relationality and participation Helen Nicholson.
