Applied Theatre: Development

Description

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.

Tim Prentki is Professor of Theatre for Development at the University of Winchester, UK, where he ran the MA in Theatre and Media as Development for many years. He is co-editor of The Applied Theatre Reader and author of The Fool in European Theatre. He writes regularly on Theatre for Development for academic journals throughout the world and is a member of the editorial board of Research in Drama Education.

It was exciting to see established scholars such as Eugene van Erven, John O'Toole and Marcia Pompeo Nogueira alongside emerging writers .. In that respect the book truly embodies the concept of creative collaboration ... The material is accessible to both students and more seasoned practitioners ... The examples all raise interesting questions for those in or thinking about the field of theatre for development. * South African Theatre Journal * A much needed concise introduction to both development history and criticism and the theoretical basis for the practice ... this book provides an excellent historical and theoretical context for TfD, as well as a fine survey of current and very recent case studies demonstrating the diversity of the field today. * Theatre Survey *