Refugees, Theatre and Crisis Performing Global Identities [Hardcover]

Using examples of refugee arts and theatrical activity since the 1990s, this book examines how the 'refugee crisis' has conditioned all arts and cultural activity with refugees in a world where globalization and migration go hand in hand.List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Preface Introduction: Stories, Words and Points of View Refugees, Crisis and Bureaucratic Performance Hosts and Guests: National Performance and the Ethics of Hospitality Taking up Space and Making a Noise: Minority Performances of Activism 'We With Them and Them With Us': Diverse Cultural Performances Conclusion: Face to Face or Shoulder to Shoulder? Notes References Index

Joint Winner of the 2012 TaPRA Early Career Researcher Prize

'Refugees, Theatre and Crisismarks a timely response to urgent political questions about the experiences of asylum seekers and refugees. Scholarly and incisive, the power of this book lies is in Alison Jeffers political clarity, her empathetic understanding of why refugees are compelled to make theatre and her vivid analysis of how theatre-makers have told refugees' stories on the professional stage. The impressively rich material and detailed case studies provide insights into the ways in which theatre and performance are used as a means of cultural expression, and asks how cultural identities are shaped in the process. This remarkable book is compelling reading for anyone who cares about human rights and theatre.' - Professor Helen Nicholson, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK

'In Refugees, Theatre and Crisis, Alison Jeffers provides a compelling account of the complex relations between refugee communities, the theatre practices they create and the 'bureaucratic' performances in which they become enmeshed. This is a theoretically rich book, brim full of previously undocumented examples of practice - a wonderful read and an inspiration for students, teachers and practitioners interested in those moments when theatrlÓÓ