_ What is Playback Theatre?
We all have stories to tell
Playback is a spontaneous and improvised theatre form - an interactive collaboration between performers and audience. Someone tells a story, or relates a moment from their lives, chooses actors to play different roles, then watches as their story is transformed into instant theatre and immediately ‘played back’. Using music, cloth and storytelling, performances enable shared interests and themes to emerge – these ‘red threads’ provide greater insight, empathy and connection between everyone present.
Origins
The original Playback Theatre Company came together in 1975 with Jonathan Fox as its director. This was in the mid-Hudson valley of upstate New York and part of the experimental theatre explorations of the 1970s - looking for ways of reaching out to its audience, bringing theatre closer to everyday reality, and breaking away from the tradition of scripted theatre. Since then, Playback Theatre has spread across the world with companies and practitioners in over 80 countries. It thrives in a variety of settings, existing as community theatre gatherings as well as a professional service to both the business and social sector.
Influences
* Community ritual & theatre: Jonathan Fox had lived in Nepal and experienced these artistic forms deeply embedded into the rhythms of everyday life.
* Oral tradition of storytelling: where people gather together to hear and share new and old stories including the world of myths, legends and folktales.
* Psychodrama: while there are differences in form and practice, there are many shared values in Playback Theatre and psychodrama. For example:
spontaneity & creativity as natural expressions of our humanity & essential for well-being.
inclusiveness – every individual has a place in the collective.
What is the purpose of Playback Theatre?
By re-creating people’s stories, Playback creates connections for everyone, which can lead to new insights and solutions. Performances can be therapeutic, exciting, moving, entertaining or simply fun!
Who can benefit from Playback Theatre?
Playback Theatre is performed in a wide range of environments in both public and private sectors, including:
We all have stories to tell
Playback is a spontaneous and improvised theatre form - an interactive collaboration between performers and audience. Someone tells a story, or relates a moment from their lives, chooses actors to play different roles, then watches as their story is transformed into instant theatre and immediately ‘played back’. Using music, cloth and storytelling, performances enable shared interests and themes to emerge – these ‘red threads’ provide greater insight, empathy and connection between everyone present.
Origins
The original Playback Theatre Company came together in 1975 with Jonathan Fox as its director. This was in the mid-Hudson valley of upstate New York and part of the experimental theatre explorations of the 1970s - looking for ways of reaching out to its audience, bringing theatre closer to everyday reality, and breaking away from the tradition of scripted theatre. Since then, Playback Theatre has spread across the world with companies and practitioners in over 80 countries. It thrives in a variety of settings, existing as community theatre gatherings as well as a professional service to both the business and social sector.
Influences
* Community ritual & theatre: Jonathan Fox had lived in Nepal and experienced these artistic forms deeply embedded into the rhythms of everyday life.
* Oral tradition of storytelling: where people gather together to hear and share new and old stories including the world of myths, legends and folktales.
* Psychodrama: while there are differences in form and practice, there are many shared values in Playback Theatre and psychodrama. For example:
spontaneity & creativity as natural expressions of our humanity & essential for well-being.
inclusiveness – every individual has a place in the collective.
What is the purpose of Playback Theatre?
By re-creating people’s stories, Playback creates connections for everyone, which can lead to new insights and solutions. Performances can be therapeutic, exciting, moving, entertaining or simply fun!
Who can benefit from Playback Theatre?
Playback Theatre is performed in a wide range of environments in both public and private sectors, including:
- Conferences
- Community groups
- Corporate training events
- Housing associations
- Prisons and probation
- Hospitals
- Educational establishments
- Therapeutic settings
- Personal celebrations
- Build relationships, connections and networks
- Empower and validate individuals and groups
- Enhance teamwork
- Build community
- Raise awareness
- Acknowledge and reconcile differences
- Facilitate clearer communication
- Demonstrate alternative solutions
- Diminish isolation