BiblioVault - Books about Balfour, Michael

Performing Arts in Prisons

Creative Perspectives

Edited by Michael Balfour, Brydie-Leigh Bartleet, Linda Davey, John Rynne, and Huib Schippers

Intellect Books, 2019

This book explores prison arts in Australia, USA, UK, and Chile, and creates a new framework for understanding its practices. There is a growing body of evidence that suggests music, theatre, poetry, and dance can contribute to prisoner wellbeing, management, rehabilitation, and reintegration. Performing Arts in Prison represents a range of distinct perspectives on the subject, from an inspector of prisons to the voice of the prisoner. The book includes a spectrum of arts approaches and models of practice alongside theory, critical commentary, and accounts of personal experience to present a full analysis of the value and effects of creative arts in prison.

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Refugee Performance

Practical Encounters

Edited by Michael Balfour

Intellect Books, 2013

Exploring theater works created for, by, and with refugees, this hybrid collection of essays combines newly commissioned scholarly work with examples of writing by refugees themselves. These varied contributions illuminate performances that range from theater in Thai refugee camps to site-specific works staged in a run-down immigrant community in the United Kingdom. An exciting addition to the growing field of applied theater, Refugee Performance provides inspiring insight into the resilience and creativity of artists responding to one of the most critical issues of our time.

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Theatre in Prison

Theory and Practice

Edited by Michael Balfour

Intellect Books, 1995

From role-plays with street gangs in the USA to Beckett in Brixton; from opera productions with sex offenders to psychodrama with psychopaths, the book will discuss, analyse and reflect on theoretical notions and practical applications of theatre for and with the incarcerated.

Theatre in Prison is a collection of thirteen international essays exploring the rich diversity of innovative drama works in prisons. The book includes an introduction that will present a contextualisation of the prison theatre field. Thereafter, leading practitioners and academics will explore key aspects of practice &endash; problemitising, theorising and describing specific approaches to working with offenders. The book also includes extracts from prison plays, poetry and prisoners writings that offer illustrations and insights into the experience of prison life.

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