Theatre in Education in Britain: Current Practice and Future Potential

Abstract

This article is based on discussions with artistic directors and administrators of British Theatre in Education companies about past and current practice and changing funding resources. Persephone Sextou reviews developments in TiE practice since its beginnings in the 1960s, focusing upon the situation in the 1990s following the enforcement of National Curriculum requirements, the redirection of government funding to partnerships in education, and the availability of funds from the National Lottery. She describes how the remaining TiE companies are struggling not to compromise their artistic autonomy, and considers the relevance of the British TiE experience in relation to the potential for the development of the medium in other countries. Persephone Sextou is an instructor in Drama and Theatre in Education at the University of Thessaly in Greece, and is researching the transference of British TiE to a Greek context for her doctoral thesis at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Her book on School Dramatization has been published in Greece.