Asymmetries at play: race, racism, and anti-racism in the archives of radical theatre-in-education

This article examines race, racism, and anti-racism in an historical example of British radical theatre-in-education in the 1980s: Pit Prop Theatre's Brand of Freedom (1984). We argue that while the programme's aims prefigured contemporary moves toward decolonising drama and theatre education, its theatrical representation of Black experience also reproduced a 'racial calculus' [Hartman, 6] that limited Black personhood, centred whiteness, and enacted white saviour tropes. Throughout, we emphasise the importance of critical historiographical work at the intersections of drama and theatre pedagogy, race, and class, to identify and dismantle practices of white-centricity in histories of drama and theatre education.

Automated summary

This article examines the issues of race, racism, and anti-racism in a historical example of British radical theatre-in-education in the 1980s. It argues that while the programme had progressive aims, it also reproduced a racial hierarchy and white-centric narratives in its theatrical representation of Black experience. The importance of critical historiographical work in dismantling white-centric practices in drama and theatre education is emphasized.