Theatre, Youth, and Culture: A Critical and Historical Exploration (Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History)

There is a complex relationship between performance, youth, and the shifting material circumstances (social, cultural, economic, ideological, and political) under which theatre for children and youth is generated and perceived. This book explores different aspect of theatre for young audiences using examples from theatrical events globally. Explores the correlation of theatre, young people, and culture and attempts to illuminate the field from a cultural materialist perspective. There is a complex relationship between performance, youth, and the shifting material circumstances (social, cultural, economic, ideological, and political) under which theatre for children and youth-birth through twenties-is generated and perceived. Offering multiple, intersecting narratives, this book explores different aspect of theatre for young audiences (TYA) using examples from theatrical events in different geographical regions. The discussion of the history, theory, and practice of TYA indicates the wide variety of hitherto under-researched topics in the growing field of professional theatre for young people Front Matter....Pages i-ix Introduction....Pages 1-8 Framing Children’s Theatre: Historiography, Material Context, and Cultural Perception....Pages 9-39 Theory and Theatre for Young Audiences: Marginalization and Cultural Production....Pages 41-57 Taboos in Theatre for Young Audiences....Pages 59-79 The Representation of “Troubled Youth” in US Theatre for Young Adults: Gay and Lesbian Theatre for Young Audiences....Pages 81-100 Theatre as Therapy in Volatile Regions....Pages 101-120 Theatre for the Very Young....Pages 121-140 Afterword....Pages 141-147 Back Matter....Pages 149-201