ABSTRACT
Applied theatre practice with young offenders and young people at risk of offending emerges in different settings across prevention, custodial and resettlement contexts, including formal institutional and informal settings: prisons, youth justice centres, pupil referral units, youth centres, schools, neighbourhood or community centres. Applied theatre projects have been seen as a means of supporting young people’s transitions into adulthood by reinforcing protective factors (cognitive skills, creative and imaginative capacities, personal and social skills) and tackling risk factors (lack of access to engaging educational opportunities or positive adult role models) associated with young people’s antisocial or offending behaviour.4 This practice represents a continuation of youth, community, educational and social theatre practices that have a long history in the UK. More recently the discourses surrounding this practice have exhibited peculiar resonances relating to the contemporary social and economic context and it is these resonances and their implications for applied theatre practice and research that are of concern here.
