Applied Theatre: Women and the Criminal Justice System

Applied Theatre: Women and the Criminal Justice System provides a unique insight into international theatre and performance practices in carceral contexts, exploring a range of practices from cross-arts projects to popular participatory performance. It highlights the intersectional injustices that shape womens criminalization and the personal and political implications of incarceration, challenging stereotypes and facilitating an economy of credibility for women with experience of the criminal justice system.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 29 July 2021
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Applied Theatre: Women and the Criminal Justice System provides unparalleled insight into international theatre and performance practices within carceral contexts, as well as the material and political factors that shape them. This comprehensive collection features twelve essays and interviews by renowned international practitioners and scholars, showcasing a diverse range of practices. From cross-arts projects influenced by autobiographical narratives to fantasy-informed cabaret, radio plays to film, popular participatory performances to work staged in commercial theatres, the range of approaches is vast.

Extracts of performance texts, developed in collaboration with Clean Break theatre company, are interwoven throughout the collection, adding depth and richness to the analysis.

However, it is important to note that the portrayal of women in prison on television and film often relies on limited and stereotypical representations, such as 'bad girls,' 'monsters,' or 'babes behind bars.' By engaging with theatre that explores the experiences of women with criminal justice system involvement, we are compelled to confront intersectional injustices that contribute to their criminalization and the profound personal and political implications of this.

Theatre and performance practices in this collection challenge, expand, and reframe the ways in which criminalized women are represented to audiences both within and beyond prison walls. They expose the role of incarceration as a mechanism of state punishment, the impact of neoliberalism on ideologies of punishment, and the inequalities and violence that shape the lives of many incarcerated women.

In a society that often discredits women with experience of the criminal justice system as unreliable or untrustworthy, this collection engages with theatre practices that facilitate an economy of credibility. It represents women with such experiences as expert witnesses, challenging the dominant narratives and providing a platform for their voices to be heard.

Overall, Applied Theatre: Women and the Criminal Justice System is a groundbreaking resource that sheds light on the complex and multifaceted relationship between women, the criminal justice system, and the broader societal context. It offers valuable insights into the power of theatre and performance to disrupt, expand, and reframe representations of criminalized women, and to advocate for their rights and dignity.

Weight: 336g
Dimension: 139 x 218 x 19 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350235984