Inclusive democracy: a consideration of playback theatre with refugee and asylum seekers in Australia

Abstract

Community-based performance often facilitates participation through story-based processes and in this way could be seen as enacting a form of inclusive democracy. This paper examines a playback theatre performance with a refugee and asylum seeker audience and questions whether inclusive, democratic participation can be fostered. It presents a snapshot of the political/social/cultural climate in Australia, as well as the refugee and asylum seeker sector in Brisbane, at the time of the performance by referencing discourses of multiculturalism and stranger danger in the wake of 9/11. Specific moments from the performance are analysed to reveal the way the momentum of ritual performance clashes with the tenuous status of the refugee participant and the structural power dynamics within the audience.

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