Full Description
When so much writing, creating and performing is going on in the UK to make accessible and original work of excellent artistic quality specifically for the young, the literature on theatre for children is surprisingly sparse. This exciting book illuminates children's theatre today and presents an analysis of the best and most innovative work,whether it follows the tradition of adapting children's literature into performances which incorporate puppetry, dance and live music or whether it represents the rich cultural influences in the UK.The contributors consider issues of ownership, active spectatorship and audience interaction. They analyse creative methods such as using `child's play'; making theatre for specific audiences such as profoundly disabled young people; connecting teenagers with Shakespeare; engaging children with the global multicultural society; the work of TiE today and much else.The contributors are Gill Brigg, David Broster, Dominic Hingorani, Jeanne Klein, Geoffrey Readman, Matthew Reason, James Reynolds, Karian Schuitema, Tom Maguire, Peter Wynne-Wilson, Jan Wozniak and Oily Cart's Tim Webb. Together they have created a compendium of theatre for young people that will be invaluable for academics,students and theatre practitioners and will appeal to anyone who is interested in theatre and how it can widen young people's horizons.
Contents
CONTENTSthe dramaturgical challenges of the spectator in children's theatre; 3. The possibility of theatre for children; 4. Theatre for young audiences at London's National Theatre; 5. The Peter Pan approach: Creating plays for children from children's play; 6. Creating theatre work for a diverse teenage audience; 7. Intercultural performances for young audiences in the UK: Engaging with the child in a globalised society; 8. White Peacock: A play for audiences with complex learning disabilities: Rising to the challenge of Article 31; 9. Impossible audiences: The Oily Cart's theatre for infants, people with complex disabilities and other young audiences who are primarily non-verbal; 10. 'All this and more': Learning through participation in Theatre in Education; 11. Being there: An examination of how children respond and interact to an immersive theatre environment; 12. Starting with Shakespeare: Performative writing, Shakespeare and young audiences; 13. Interviewing children after performances; Notes on contributors; Index
