Theatre and Democracy

Theatre and Democracy: Building Democracy in Post-war and Post-democratic Contexts is the outcome of a longstanding collaboration between two centers of applied theatre education and research in South-Africa and Norway, respectively (2017–2022). It presents knowledge, critical conversations and artistic work related to issues of democracy, both historical and contemporary. Within the global framework of our current (post)democracies, thirteen chapters contain stories and analyses from artists and researchers who all study, understand and facilitate theatre as a political-performative medium in dealing with community-specific democratic issues. The reader encounters studies and reports from specific cases of applied theatre, community culture development and performance activism in countries such as South-Africa, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Norway. There is a common interest in theatre as a platform for active citizenry, as well as several attempts to explore theatre as a platform for “political subjectivation” (Rancière).

Bjørn Rasmussen

Bjørn Rasmussen is professor in Drama/theatre at Norwegian University of Science and Technology and is an instigator and co-leader of the project “Building democracy through theatre”. Through his teaching, supervision and research within applied theatre and drama education, he has contributed internationally for nearly 30 years.

Petro Janse Van Vuuren

Petro Janse van Vuuren is the Head of Department of Drama for Life at the University of the Witwatersrand School of Arts, Johannesburg, where she lectures, researches, supervises and practises in the field of Applied Drama and Theatre. She is co-leader of the teaching and research exchange project “Building democracy through theatre” and the winner of the 2019 Wits university Faculty of Humanities and Vice Chancellor’s awards for teaching and learning.

Ayanda Khala

Mandela-Rhodes Scholar Ayanda Khala is a Performance Studies lecturer and doctoral researcher at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) where she also serves as Golden Key International Honours Society chapter co-Advisor and executive member of the university staff union. Historically, Khala’s experience in theatre education includes teaching at Wits University, the University of Pretoria, Waterford Kamhlaba UWC of Southern Africa and Maru-a-Pula School in Gaborone, Botswana. She has also served as Programme Director at theatre-based NPO, Themba Interactive. Her contribution includes festival curation and participation in programmes focused on performance studies, human rights and social justice advocacy.

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