Playback Theatre
Playback theatre is exciting improvised theatre where the stories, memories and perceptions of the audience are re-enacted spontaneously by a team of actors and a musician to create a performance that is both powerful and poignant.
It was created by American psychodramatist Jonathan Fox, who developed the idea of a spontaneous theatre that reflected back to a gathered audience their view of the world as they experienced it. In a Playback Theatre event someone in the audience tells a story from their life, chooses actors to play the different roles, then watches as their story is given artistic shape and coherence.
The telling and acting of these stories becomes a conversation that enables a community to get to know itself better.
As participants co-create the performance, and see their stories reflected, several things happen:
- experience of community and empathy are enhanced
- hidden and subtle elements are brought to light
- insights are gained
- trust is developed
Playback Theatre is practised in over 40 different countries in the world. This International Network of Playback Theatre companies allows us all to share experiences and to keep in contact with developments, research and training opportunities all over the world.
Next Public Performance Friday 4th July
Watch for details of our 2008 season.
See a full list of 2008 performance dates
