ABSTRACT
The representation of narratives, communities, experiences and challenges through applied theatre is a crucial part of practice to be considered throughout the entire process of a project. Two particular types of constructs, which Kelly identifies, are important for applied theatre practitioners to consider when planning how to negotiate the subsequent self-perception and representation of participants within projects. For prison projects, the representation of the people behind the community, designated by the label of ‘inmate’, is important to consider when devising a performance for a public or restricted family audience depending on the category and security rules of a particular prison. In terms of applied theatre practice, this may translate to the assumed end goals or intended outcomes shared by a group, including the representation of a particular context, narrative and resolution. To avoid being oppressive and thereby reconstructing power hierarchies that alienate and dehumanise, the practitioner has a responsibility to seek to humanise and avoid the easier representation of oppressor.
