Applied Theatre: Aesthetics ed. by Gareth White

Abstract

Reviewed by: Applied Theatre: Aesthetics ed. by Gareth White Aaron Zilbermann Applied Theatre: Aesthetics. Edited by Gareth White. Applied Theatre series. London: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama, 2015; pp. 320. Applied theatre is in a precarious situation. Its sustaining institutions, which provide funding for applied theatre projects around the globe, demand a preoccupation with practical efficacy that can be measured in quantitative data. These institutions largely ignore the fact that theatre, as a broad discipline and a specific model for social justice, is a fine art that cannot be separated from aesthetics, regardless of its purpose. There is a place for beauty in applied theatre, although it has not been well-articulated. In his book Applied Theatre: Aesthetics Gareth White confronts this conflict in the social construction of applied theatre. Part theory and part case studies in practical application, Applied Theatre: Aesthetics offers a valuable perspective on the significance of beauty within the context of theatre engaged in social change. In this collaborative work, White enters into a dialogue with various theorists and practitioners on a number of different artistic attitudes within the context of applied theatre. White uses Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Judgment as the basis for a theoretical approach and argues the case for revolutionary thought and practice in aesthetics. White’s edited book is a well-written, well-formatted collection of essays offering conflicting, yet complementary views on these diverging notions of what a revolutionary aesthetic must resemble. Applied Theatre: Aesthetics is organized into four sections: an introduction, parts 1 and 2, and an epilogue. In the introduction White identifies the problem: a lack of concern with aesthetics in applied theatre. He offers a glance at a few conflicting definitions of the term applied theatre and discourages any attempt to create a dominant or governing aesthetic. This is a discourse, not a consistent collection of procedures and methods to be implemented in the creation of art. Most significantly, the introduction offers a potential for beauty within interventionist art. In part 1 (consisting of chapters 1 and 2) White provides an illuminating inquiry into the philosophical concepts of aesthetics, and attempts to develop them within the context of a case study: the development and performance of Eye Queue Hear, a “performative audio walk” created and performed in 2013 by Access All Areas, a theatre company located in London’s East End, working with individuals struggling with learning disabilities. Using this case, White is better able to characterize and clarify his contention maintained throughout chapter 2: “beauty, as a prime example of the aesthetic in its exceptional form,” should be “viewed as a social, progressive or even radical good” (62). He denounces aesthetic autonomy and advocates for a theory that accepts heteronomy. Ultimately, White concludes that the worth of beauty is interrelated to the artistic products of the participants, and in the diversity of their interpretation of each experience. Part 2 consists of six chapters, each written by a different applied theatre practitioner. Each case study is vastly different regarding context, methodology, scope, purpose, [End Page 271] and space, yet each in its own unique way addresses the issue of aesthetics within applied theatre. White includes essays written by Nicola Shaughnessy, Mojisola Adebayo, Kirsten Sadeghi-Yekta, Ananda Breed, Anna Hickey-Moody, and Brian Heap. Some of the essays challenge the efficacy of applied theatre aesthetics in educational institutions and other social settings, especially when placed in the hands of inadequate educators and facilitators. Others advocate for a new aesthetic that embraces process and participation. There are a number of different conceptions presented throughout part 2 of Applied Theatre: Aesthetics, but one consistency seems to be that a heightened experience of the senses can encourage change. In one of the essays, Adebayo brilliantly explains her creative process, walking us through the development of I Stand Corrected (ISC) with South African choreographer Mamela Nyamza. ISC is a performance that uses rape as the impetus to raise questions and debate about homophobia, particularly in postcolonial societies. Through audience surveys, post-performance conversations, and critics, Adebayo discovered that her work was overwhelmingly described as “beautiful” and “powerful.” She uses this case study to argue that the pursuit of aesthetic beauty found in ISC exemplifies...