Introduction

This section is about developments and definitions. The aim here is, first, to provide an overview of TIE as it has evolved in Britain, identifying some of the key shifts in its development, and, second, to offer a more explorative account of the nature of TIE ‘Education or Theatre?’ (a revised and expanded version of the 1980 essay) traces in outline the history of the TIE movement in Britain, from its emergence in 1965 to the present, and relates its uneven growth and precarious existence to the perennial problems of how it has been both perceived and funded. Gavin Bolton’s chapter is a rewritten version of his excellent essay for the 1980 edition. As an internationally known authority on educational drama and as one who in his own way has had a major impact upon the thinking and practice of many TIE teams, he examines the similarities and differences between TIE and drama in education, between the role of the actorteacher and that of the drama teacher, and suggests a helpful conceptual framework for understanding the functions of each.