Theatre and Performance Studies News
Dr. Susan Haedicke publishes an article on Friches Théâtre Urbain’s applied theatre project in the banlieues north of Paris that works with rival gangs in Research in Drama Education
Dr. Susan Haedicke published ‘Breaking a Legacy of Hatred: Friches Théâtre Urbain’s Lieu Commun’ in Research in Drama Education 21.2 (2016): 161-75. The article examines the innovative applied theatre project that resulted from a violent clash between rival gangs from Asnières and Gennevilliers in the banlieue north of Paris when a fifteen-year old boy was killed at the metro station Les Courtilles, the last stop on Line 13. Realizing the need for radically different approaches to halt an escalation of violence, city officials, asked Sarah Harper, Artistic Director of Friches Théâtre Urbain, a street theatre company in Paris, to develop a community-based art-making project that would augment attempts by the youth workers and others to defuse the volatile situation.