The Local Spaces of Contemporary Brisbane Theatre: A Strategy for Analysing and Interpreting Theatre (2008-2010)

The project develops a new methodology for analysing theatre: it examines three Brisbane theatre companies to show how theatre reflects a city s socio-political practices. In Brisbane, an issue regularly staged (but critically unexamined) is the local; my focus on this geographically-defined interpretation of theatre moves away from conventional approaches. The project culminates in an archival website and a book that combines the mechanics of theatre with theoretical performance interpretations to combine the staging of aesthetics with the socio-political effects of staging local matters. This study also advances Australian theatre research by deploying virtual reality technology to merge theory and practice.