Applied Theatre

Annual conference for socially engaged practitioners, this year focussing on creativity and organising in response to Covid-19. Four afternoons of curated presentations and provocations all available to watch at your leisure. Heart of Glass, 2020

Adrian Jackson in conversation with international Theatre of the Oppressed pioneers discussing their work and their response to the current moment. Cardboard Citizens, 2020.

Although this isn't directly an arts-toolkit, it is relevant and useful for arts practitioners interested in taking a radical approach to educational theatre/arts projects. Plenty of theory and practice, case studies and exercises. Radical Education Forum, 2012.

An insightful and provocative article charting the depoliticisation of Community Arts in Britain between 1970 and 2011. A must read for all radically minded practitioners.  For more by this seminal thinker look here. Francois Matarasso, 2013 

An on-line magazine about art and social engagement hosted by US company Blade of Grass, with case studies and thought provoking articles that resonate internationally. A Blade of Grass, live

One of the first books to document international community theatre through detailed case studies. These are excellent observations of diverse practices. Van Erven went on to establish the International Community Arts Festival.  Eugene van Erven, 2001 

This article offers a broad range of insights into what academics and practitioners understand by the term Applied Theatre, and gives a good over view of the terrain.  Research in Drama Education, 2004 

The eight international case studies in this book show a broad range of participatory theatre approaches, each demonstrating radical empowerment, and offering provocative food for thought for practitioners. Richard Boon & Jane Plastow, 2004 

This was one of the first books to set participatory theatre in an academic frame of reference. It looks at applied drama from a critical perspective asking important questions about purpose, efficacy, value and ethics.  Helen Nicholson, 2005