Applied Theatre: Aesthetics

Gareth White lectures in applied theatre and community performance at Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London, UK. He is also a director, performer and facilitator, with a particular interest in processes and theories of participation and collaborative processes.

• Introduction Chapter 1 - Aesthetics and the Aesthetic (Gareth White) Chapter 2 - Aesthetic Autonomy and Heteronomous Aesthetics (Gareth White) Chapter 3 - Dancing With Difference: Moving Towards a New Aesthetics (Nicola Shaughnessy, University of Kent, UK) Chapter 4 - Revolutionary Beauty Out of Homophobic Hate (Mojisola Adebayo, Queen Mary, University of London, UK) Chapter 5 - Competing International Players and their Aesthetic Imperatives:The Future of Internationalised Applied Theatre Practice? (Kirsten Sadeghi-Yekta) Chapter 6 - Aesthetic Play: Between Performance and Justice (Ananda Breed, University of East London, UK) Chapter 7 - The Political Imagination and Contemporary Theatre for Youth (Anna Hickey-Moody, Goldsmiths, University of London, UK) Chapter 8 - The Aesthetics of Becoming; Applied Theatre and the Quest for Cultural Certitude (Brian Heap, University of West Indies)Epilogue (Gareth White)NotesIndex

Part theory and part case studies in practical application, Applied Theatre: Aesthetics offers a valuable perspective on the significance of beauty within the context of theatre engaged in social change. White’s edited book is a well-written, well-formatted collection of essays offering conflicting, yet complementary views on these diverging notions of what a revolutionary aesthetic must resemble. … Each case study is vastly different regarding context, methodology, scope, purpose, and space, yet each in its own unique way addresses the issue of aesthetics within applied theatre. … White has cultivated an eloquent and yet successful argument for the use of beauty to encourage change. Collectively, these scholars and theatre practitioners have initiated a thoughtful and intriguing dialogue on the nature of aesthetics, particularly the potential inclusion of participatory aesthetics within the context of theatre in general and applied theatre specifically.