Call for Papers for Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance
| Type of post: | Association news item |
| Sub-type: | No sub-type |
| Posted By: | Molly Mullen |
| Status: | Current |
| Date Posted: | Wed, 17 Sep 2025 |
Call for Papers for Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance
Title: “Vulnerability as Critical Practice in Socially Engaged Theatre-Making”
Editorial Team: Katharine Low, Alex Halligey, Zoe Zontou and Selina Busby
Scheduled for: RiDE 32,3 (expected publication August 2027)
This special issue aims to critically examine applied theatre and notions of vulnerability. The collection will explore how the relationship between applied theatre and vulnerability operates on multiple levels of engagement and understanding. While applied theatre often involves participants who may be classified as 'vulnerable' or 'at risk' in social, political, and economic terms, the practice itself requires all participants to engage in forms of ‘critical vulnerability’ (O’Grady 2017). As practitioners working with different groups of people such as socially and economically disadvantaged women from the global majority, recovering drug addicts, people living with HIV, children in the foster care system, refugees seeking asylum, we have observed how ‘vulnerability’ as a label frequently operates as both patronising and rooted in a colonial framework, often revealing more about those who attribute vulnerability than the perceived ‘vulnerable’ communities themselves. This special issue invites articles that explore how power dynamics, agency, and duty of care operate within these complex interpersonal relationships. We welcome critical analyses of vulnerability as a relational practice, case studies of projects that challenge traditional conceptualizations of vulnerability, and theoretical frameworks for understanding vulnerability in performance practice. Of particular interest are methodological approaches that reframe vulnerability as a generative, cross-cultural perspective in applied theatre, and explorations of the ethical considerations of working with 'vulnerable' communities. Contributors might also engage with feminist and critical theorists who have advanced our understanding of vulnerability. This include, Erinn Gilson's (2014) ethical analysis of vulnerability as a fundamental aspect of social life, Judith Butler's (2020) examination of interdependence and precarity, Claire Carter, Chelsea Temple Jones, and Caitlin Janzen’s (2024) theorisation of vulnerable moments in research committed to social change, and Rosi Braidotti’s (2013) posthumanist theory which argues that humans and other beings are inherently vulnerable and interconnected, framing this vulnerability as a potential source of empowerment.
We envision this special issue as a significant contribution to the field of applied theatre, offering new frameworks for understanding and engaging with vulnerability in practice. By bringing together diverse perspectives from scholars and practitioners, we aim to challenge existing paradigms and propose innovative approaches to working with communities in applied theatre contexts. Contributors might like to consider how applied theatre methodologies can extend and deepen interdisciplinary research with so-called vulnerable communities. They may like to think about alternative, anti-racist, feminist, Indigenous and decolonising approaches to research methodologies and how these may be taught and shared ethically and co-collaboratively? We have proposed a series of themes below, but welcome conversations with colleagues about other areas which address the idea of vulnerability.
Potential submissions could include:
Reference listSubmission Instructions
We welcome research articles (c.8,000) and other forms of contributions such as interviews, provocations, practitioner statements, creative contributions and case studies (c.2,000). All submissions will be reviewed by two anonymous referees and by the editors.
Please send 300-word proposals for contributions, plus 100-word biographies for each contributor, to Kat Low (Katharine.Low@kcl.ac.uk) and Alex Halligey (alexandra.halligey@wits.ac.za).
Timeline
Editorial Biographies:
Katharine Low is a practitioner-researcher and is Senior Lecturer in Performance and Medical Humanities at King’s College London. She has over 20 years’ experience in applied theatre practice and health, working in the fields of sexual health, gender equity and urban violence, in the UK and internationally. Her research is embedded in collaborations with arts and cultural organisations, medical practitioners and NGOs to co-facilitate participatory theatre and arts-based projects based around social concerns. Recent publications include: Applied Theatre and Sexual Health Communication: Apertures of Possibility (2020, Palgrave Macmillan). She currently hosts a podcast called Positively Women: Past and Present.
Alex Halligey is a senior lecturer in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Culture Studies Department at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Alex uses theatre and performance as research tools and conceptual lenses for understanding cities, with a particular, though not exclusive, focus on cities in the global south. She runs participatory theatre process with city residents to explore their experience of day-to-day placemaking practices. Alex is also a practicing performer, theatre-maker and Alexander Technique teacher.
Selina Busby is a professor of applied and social theatre at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and a National Teaching Fellow. She is an academic and theatre practitioner who makes performances with community groups and her research-practice focuses on theatre that invites the possibility of change. She uses participatory and emancipatory research methods, and has worked in prison settings, youth theatres, and with people living in adverse conditions both in the UK and internationally. Recent publications include: Applied Theatre: A Pedagogy of Utopia (2021) Methuen.
Zoe Zontou is an Associate Professor of Drama at Liverpool Hope University. With over 15 years of experience in applied theatre, her research explores the role of socially engaged arts in reshaping societal perceptions of addiction recovery. She has led numerous applied theatre projects in both the UK and Greece. Recent publications include, "Dark Night Ends: The Ethics of Vulnerability in Applied Theatre", appears in Applied Theatre: Ethics (edited by Sadeghi-Yekta, K., & Prendergast, M., 2021). She is currently working on a monograph titled Performing Addiction Cultures: Politics, Ethics, Aesthetics, which is due to be published by Routledge in 2025.
Title: “Vulnerability as Critical Practice in Socially Engaged Theatre-Making”
Editorial Team: Katharine Low, Alex Halligey, Zoe Zontou and Selina Busby
Scheduled for: RiDE 32,3 (expected publication August 2027)
This special issue aims to critically examine applied theatre and notions of vulnerability. The collection will explore how the relationship between applied theatre and vulnerability operates on multiple levels of engagement and understanding. While applied theatre often involves participants who may be classified as 'vulnerable' or 'at risk' in social, political, and economic terms, the practice itself requires all participants to engage in forms of ‘critical vulnerability’ (O’Grady 2017). As practitioners working with different groups of people such as socially and economically disadvantaged women from the global majority, recovering drug addicts, people living with HIV, children in the foster care system, refugees seeking asylum, we have observed how ‘vulnerability’ as a label frequently operates as both patronising and rooted in a colonial framework, often revealing more about those who attribute vulnerability than the perceived ‘vulnerable’ communities themselves. This special issue invites articles that explore how power dynamics, agency, and duty of care operate within these complex interpersonal relationships. We welcome critical analyses of vulnerability as a relational practice, case studies of projects that challenge traditional conceptualizations of vulnerability, and theoretical frameworks for understanding vulnerability in performance practice. Of particular interest are methodological approaches that reframe vulnerability as a generative, cross-cultural perspective in applied theatre, and explorations of the ethical considerations of working with 'vulnerable' communities. Contributors might also engage with feminist and critical theorists who have advanced our understanding of vulnerability. This include, Erinn Gilson's (2014) ethical analysis of vulnerability as a fundamental aspect of social life, Judith Butler's (2020) examination of interdependence and precarity, Claire Carter, Chelsea Temple Jones, and Caitlin Janzen’s (2024) theorisation of vulnerable moments in research committed to social change, and Rosi Braidotti’s (2013) posthumanist theory which argues that humans and other beings are inherently vulnerable and interconnected, framing this vulnerability as a potential source of empowerment.
We envision this special issue as a significant contribution to the field of applied theatre, offering new frameworks for understanding and engaging with vulnerability in practice. By bringing together diverse perspectives from scholars and practitioners, we aim to challenge existing paradigms and propose innovative approaches to working with communities in applied theatre contexts. Contributors might like to consider how applied theatre methodologies can extend and deepen interdisciplinary research with so-called vulnerable communities. They may like to think about alternative, anti-racist, feminist, Indigenous and decolonising approaches to research methodologies and how these may be taught and shared ethically and co-collaboratively? We have proposed a series of themes below, but welcome conversations with colleagues about other areas which address the idea of vulnerability.
Potential submissions could include:
- Critical analyses of the terminology and categorisation of vulnerability in applied theatre;
- Case studies of projects that challenge traditional conceptualisations of vulnerability;
- The body and performing vulnerability;
- Ethical considerations in working with communities labelled as 'vulnerable';
- Methodological approaches that reframe vulnerability as a generative force;
- The intersection of vulnerability with power, agency, and creative practice;
- Cross-cultural perspectives on vulnerability in applied theatre;
- Decolonising notions of vulnerability;
- Vulnerability, care and kindness;
- Critiques of the theory underpinning the concepts of vulnerability and vulnerabilisation;
- Posthumanism, vulnerability, and applied theatre
- Climate change/environment, vulnerability and applied theatre
Reference list
- Braidotti, R. (2013). The posthuman. Cambridge: Polity press.
- Butler, J. (2020). Precarious Life: the Powers of Mourning and Violence. London: Verso.
- Carter, C., Chelsea Temple Jones and Janzen, C. (2024). Contemporary Vulnerabilities. University of Alberta.
- Gilson, E.C. (2014). The Ethics of Vulnerability: a Feminist Analysis of Social Life and Practice. London ; New York: Routledge.
- O’Grady, A.R. (2017). Risk, participation, and performance practice: critical vulnerabilities in a precarious world. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan.
Submission Instructions
We welcome research articles (c.8,000) and other forms of contributions such as interviews, provocations, practitioner statements, creative contributions and case studies (c.2,000). All submissions will be reviewed by two anonymous referees and by the editors.Please send 300-word proposals for contributions, plus 100-word biographies for each contributor, to Kat Low (Katharine.Low@kcl.ac.uk) and Alex Halligey (alexandra.halligey@wits.ac.za).
Timeline
- Deadline for proposals: 30 September 2025
- Deadline for first full drafts: 1 June 2026
- Final copy deadline: 5 April 2027
- Publication: expected August 2027.
Editorial Biographies:
Katharine Low is a practitioner-researcher and is Senior Lecturer in Performance and Medical Humanities at King’s College London. She has over 20 years’ experience in applied theatre practice and health, working in the fields of sexual health, gender equity and urban violence, in the UK and internationally. Her research is embedded in collaborations with arts and cultural organisations, medical practitioners and NGOs to co-facilitate participatory theatre and arts-based projects based around social concerns. Recent publications include: Applied Theatre and Sexual Health Communication: Apertures of Possibility (2020, Palgrave Macmillan). She currently hosts a podcast called Positively Women: Past and Present.
Alex Halligey is a senior lecturer in the Interdisciplinary Arts and Culture Studies Department at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Alex uses theatre and performance as research tools and conceptual lenses for understanding cities, with a particular, though not exclusive, focus on cities in the global south. She runs participatory theatre process with city residents to explore their experience of day-to-day placemaking practices. Alex is also a practicing performer, theatre-maker and Alexander Technique teacher.
Selina Busby is a professor of applied and social theatre at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and a National Teaching Fellow. She is an academic and theatre practitioner who makes performances with community groups and her research-practice focuses on theatre that invites the possibility of change. She uses participatory and emancipatory research methods, and has worked in prison settings, youth theatres, and with people living in adverse conditions both in the UK and internationally. Recent publications include: Applied Theatre: A Pedagogy of Utopia (2021) Methuen.
Zoe Zontou is an Associate Professor of Drama at Liverpool Hope University. With over 15 years of experience in applied theatre, her research explores the role of socially engaged arts in reshaping societal perceptions of addiction recovery. She has led numerous applied theatre projects in both the UK and Greece. Recent publications include, "Dark Night Ends: The Ethics of Vulnerability in Applied Theatre", appears in Applied Theatre: Ethics (edited by Sadeghi-Yekta, K., & Prendergast, M., 2021). She is currently working on a monograph titled Performing Addiction Cultures: Politics, Ethics, Aesthetics, which is due to be published by Routledge in 2025.
