Applied Theatre: Women and the Criminal Justice System

The book provides the first sustained critical enquiry into applied theatre practice with women affected by the criminal justice system. It offers a clear methodological and critical framework to examine a range of international practices, the material conditions of their production and what these reveal of the representation, experience and ‘value’ of women affected by the criminal justice system. Drawing on a range of international case studies, interviews with practitioners and participants and original documentation from applied theatre projects, the book articulates new understandings about the cultural representations of women who offend, how government policy inscribes social, economic and political values upon these bodies and how applied theatre practice negotiates ideas of identity, agency, authority and representation.Part I offers a critical introduction to the field, contextualizing applied theatre, women and the criminal justice system. It introduces the key critical concerns of the book and the methodological and theoretical frameworks used to examine the diverse range of international theatre practices within it, including issues of space and place; voice and representation; and the audience for applied theatre with and about women affected by the criminal justice system.Part II curates interviews and essays by scholars, artists, campaigners, project participants and staff working in the criminal justice system in international contexts including Australia, South Africa, the UK and the USA.