BALANCING GAPS An Investigation of Edward Bond's Theory and Practice for drama
Creators: name: AMOIROPOULOS, KONSTANTINOS
Publisher: name: figshare
Year: 2025
Subjects: classificationCode: 360403
subject: Drama, theatre and performance studies
classificationCode: 360401
subject: Applied theatre
classificationCode: 369999
subject: Other creative arts and writing not elsewhere classified
classificationCode: 360499
subject: Performing arts not elsewhere classified

description: This PhD thesis is a case study that analyzes the production process of a participatory theatre in education programme by Big Brum, Theatre in Education, TIE, to analyse the key elements of playwright Edward Bond's dramatic theory and practice.The case study attempts to explore, through Big Brum's practice approach, the possible applications of a Bodian way of working in Drama in education (DIE).Edward Bond proposes new directions for modern theatre, at the heart of which lies his interest in the human imagination. He argues that the purpose of theatre is to meet the needs of the audience as a "place of imagination." He believes that, in modern times, theatre should enable imagination "to make the journeys that reason would take," a theatre that "invokes logic and emotion, image and philosophy."The aim of this study, therefore, is to identify and describe as fully as possible the basic principles behind Edward Bond's work in practice so that they can be used in the classroom to activate students' imagination and creative criticism.Big Brum is a well-known TIE company in Birmingham, UK, closely associated with the playwright's work and method. Edward Bond is one of the company's collaborating artists and often writes works, especially for the company, which tours primary and secondary schools in the UK and abroad. Consequently, the company has provided fertile ground for exploring Bond's approach to practice. It was chosen as the subject of this study because of its experience and knowledge of the playwright's theories and methods.This case concerns the company's directing and preparation of a theatre programme in education, which toured schools in the Greater Birmingham area and abroad. The program was based on Edward Bond's play <i>A Window</i>, written specifically for this company and this purpose.The critical framework for exploring Big Brum's practice is based on the analysis of Edward Bond's theory and the selection of nine critical but distinctly Bodian elements of the approach to theatre: site, Centre, Extreme, Drama Event, Invisible Object, Cathexis, Site, Accident, and Enactment.The first chapter consists of a literature review of Edward Bond's theory. The first part of the review explores how other authors analyze the author's arguments, practice, and theory. The second part aims at a more in-depth examination with the help of other studies that seem more up-to-date about the evolution of the author's theory and practice. The second part of the literature review is crucial for research because it defines the critical context in which the practice of Big Brum is analyzed and, later (in chapter 3), examined.The second chapter explains the research methodology and provides a detailed presentation of it and the techniques used to collect data for this case study. It also provides the details of the methodological triangulation used to collect data and control their analysis.The third chapter presents the research findings through an illustration of the process of producing the theater program in Big Brum's education through storytelling.Finally, the fourth chapter outlines the main guidelines for applying Bond's approach to drama in the classroom.Overall, the study attempts to clarify the Bond theory by providing an illustrative example from Big Brum's practice.