Drawing from my first-hand observations and embodied experiences of having collaborated with HORA over the course of several years, this paper discusses an under-investigated area within the field of disability and performance: pioneering work by directors and with learning or cognitive disabilities, an area which has not yet been addressed in the…

The advances of scientific techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging and functional magnetic resonance imaging have led to an enormous increase in understanding of the physical, neurological and cognitive developments in infancy. Alongside this, radical new forms of theatre, dance and music have emerged, aimed at this same age group. Many…

Theater is a millenary art form that has stably maintained its minimum indispensable elements over the years. Yet, not much is known about the psychological impact of this performing art. A literature review shows a broad and sometimes contradictory spectrum of theoretical and empirical evidence. In the last few decades, however, interdisciplinary…

In 2011, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) began a series of collaborations with established amateur theatre groups from across the UK. The initiative now known as Open Stages became one of the most ambitious educational outreach programmes ever run by the RSC, engaging hundreds of amateur theatre practitioners in a process of skills sharing and…

Examining the following selected Renaissance dramas: Marlowe's "The Jew of Malta" (1585), Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice" (1596), Massinger's "The Renegado" (1624), Daborne's "A Christian Turn'd Turk" (1612), and Goffe's "The Raging Turk" (1656), this research investigates Renaissance…

Measurement of academic work has become more significant than the intellectual, pedagogical, cultural, political and social practices in which academics and students engage. This shifting emphasis creates paradoxes for academics. They experience a growing sense of disconnection between their desires to develop students into engaged, disciplined…

This study aims to compare the perceptions and self-efficacy skills of primary school teachers who have taken drama courses to those who have not in terms of the use of drama as a teaching technique. The sample of the study consists of prospective second and third grade teachers enrolled in the Primary School Teaching Department at Ahi Evran…

The aim of this article is to shed light on the complex role of drama teaching and drama teachers' learning trajectories. Within a socio-cultural framework of understanding, an ethnographic study was conducted on the culture and context of drama implementation in schools. The theory of practice architectures by Stephen Kemmis and Peter Grootenboer…

This essay explores the role of talk within the English classroom. Classroom talk (in its various forms) is not simply a method for sharing fixed systems of knowledge or information; it is the most useful mechanism for giving learners the space to develop new meanings and new ways of thinking about their surroundings. As soon as learners are…

This paper tests a new method of teaching vocabulary to young second language learners through the medium of drama, specifically the effect of drama teaching techniques on vocabulary acquisition among primary school learners of Welsh. Vocabulary Acquisition via Drama (VAD) is based on principles derived from both process drama and communicative…

At the beginning of this century, the research-based practice of Applied Theatre has manifested as an innovation, action, experience and arts-based intervention, as well as a platform or forum with social-critical intensions (Denzin, 2003; Hartley, 2012; Leavy, 2015; Norris, 2009; Saldaña, 2011). Forum theatre is a community theatre form,…

Theatre for Early Years (TEY) audiences is a relatively new and growing area of practice. This article arises from empirical research with a group of children aged three and four, who made repeat visits to watch TEY performances at Polka Theatre in London. Drawing on literature from education studies, theatre studies and cultural geography, this…

English teachers often feel blamed for low results on high-stakes standardised literacy tests such as Australia's National Assessment Program--Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). Faced with pressure for their students to produce high scores, teachers can react by making changes to both content and strategies which result in a narrowing of curriculum…

In this article, we question the unilateral discourse of benefit of participation in participatory refugee theatre in the context of a growing socio-political climate of polarisation and stigmatisation of refugees in European countries of resettlement. By integrating critical voices from the fields of applied theatre and refugee research, we…

In the light of sustained interest in the potential value of young children's narrative play, this article examines Vivian Gussin Paley's approach to storytelling and story-acting, in this case with 3- to 5-year-olds. It scrutinises how children's narratives are co-constructed during adult-child and peer interactions through spoken and embodied…