Overview
At once both guide book and provocation, this is an indispensable
companion for students and practitioners of applied theatre. It
addresses all key aspects: principles, origins, politics and aesthetics
in a concise and accessible style designed to appeal both to those who
have recently discovered this sub-discipline and to experienced
practitioners and academics. Part 1 is divided into two chapters. The
first introduces the sub-discipline of Theatre for Development, covering
its origins, principles and history, and providing an overview of
theatre for development in Western contexts as well as in Africa, Asia,
the Indian Subcontinent and Latin America. The second focuses upon
theoretical and philosophical issues confronting the discipline and its
relationship to contemporary politics, as well as considering its future
role. Part 2 consists of seven chapters contributed by leading figures
and current practitioners from around the world and covering a diverse
range of themes, methodologies and aesthetic approaches. One chapter
offers a series of case studies concerned with sexual health education
and HIV prevention, drawn from practitioners working in Vietnam, Papua
New Guinea, Southern Africa, and China. Other chapters include studies
of intercultural theatre in the Peruvian Amazon; a programme of applied
theatre conducted in schools in Canterbury, New Zealand, following the
2010 earthquake; an attempt to reinvigorate a community theatre group in
South Brazil; and an exchange between a Guatemalan arts collective and a
Dutch youth theatre company, besides others.