To teach and delight? Examining the efficacy of popular theatre forms in radical theatre practice

This article discusses a series of research through practice projects that were designed to offer a preliminary evaluation of how popular theatre forms might function to 'teach and delight' audiences, as well as make them active as a response to issues discussed through the discourse of performance. In doing so, the projects sought to explore a viable model for creating political grass-roots theatre in twenty-first century Britain. In his analysis of the audience reception statistics collected from the performance, the author is able to show that in these instances the popular theatre forms were able to engage and educate audiences about the issues of concern they explored. Further, the limited evidence suggests that the performances may have also encouraged spectators to become more actively involved in resolving these issues. The author subsequently concludes by collating what he sees as the principal benefits of each of the popular forms he examined and theorises their likely impact on audiences and the political issues they try and represent at the present time.