PLACE PEOPLE POWER is a publication on the role of place in participatory theatre practice for theatre artists who are newly engaging with the relationship between their work and place. Artists who are working in other artforms may also find relevance in what I write for their own practices. 

You can view an extract of the publication by clicking here.
This sample offers three chapters of the publication: ‘Why Place?’, ‘Imagining Place‘, and ‘Relationships with Place, Practice, and Projects’.

The intentions of this publication are to set a foundation for deeper consideration of place by sharing the application of theory as a tool for the creative practice I undertook. I hope that this may support participatory project design and processes that result in more meaningful engagements with the people who live in these places.

Click here to jump to how to order a copy.

Across forty double-pages I demonstrate how place features in participatory theatre work, and how we might handle our responsibility to place more manageably. It starts by gently introducing theories of place as laid out by Doreen Masssey in useful ways for theatre artists. These build to lay a foundation offering a set of techniques for understanding the role of place in our project designs and practices, and finally moves into critical unpicking of place as more than concepts but the material conditions of peoples’ lives that we are trusted with in our art. Theatre artists may be inhibiting the development of places and not even know it.

After the impact of the pandemic, where so many artists and organisations turned to place due to travel restrictions and following Brexit which held certain arguments of tighter control of British borders and who can cross them, we have grown a heightened sense of place and its boundaries. We can think of places as areas on a map with lines around them, deciding where places start and end but by drawing boundaries around places, we can unwittingly decide who is included or excluded, flare insecurities around belonging, and we risk an insular way of working. At the extremes of thinking of places as bounded and fixed, we risk perpetuating conflict-based myths that “can so easily be yet another way of constructing a counterposition between ‘us’ and ‘them’” ^{(Massey, 1991: 27)}.

I believe a reframed understanding of how we think, speak and write about place is fundamentally about challenging hierarchies and honing the purpose of creating art with people and place in participation as fit for the next decade. 

So, can a deeper awareness, understanding, and appreciation of place and its role in projects support artists and organisations with (re)growing and strengthening their relationships with the people and places we work? 

Responses from Readers:

“This is a really readable, engaging piece of work, that gets stuck into exploring the complexities and nuances of what it means to work creatively in a place-based way. It brings together theory and practice in a way that makes this a deeply useful resource for artists working on the ground, offering a vocabulary and toolkit to help artists think precisely about their role in a place, and about the potential impacts of their presence, approach and actions. At the same time, it offers a compelling rationale of the need to work slowly in place-based create projects. As such, this adds an important voice to the argument for longer-term, more flexible funding to support place-based creative projects.” 
Kathryn Welch, Culture Collective Programme Lead

“Place, People, Power is an accessible and practical publication. Nick writes with clarity on numerous areas of participatory practice and his research invites greater thought, care and attention be given as we move forward in recovery from an unprecedented period of physical separation and isolation. The publication is generous and offers ideas, suggestions and questions that everyone involved in the creation and support of participatory theatre and performance can consider and apply.
Place, People, Power invites us to consider what we can do to support and encourage positive social change. The call for more joined-up thinking, effective partnership working and a long-term, wholistic approach to practice is especially welcome in a moment where the challenges faced feel as great as ever.“
Matt Addicott, Platform Easterhouse Artistic Director

“It’s easy to navigate, and the way it’s set out makes it useable as a resource, and that’s something I look for when engaging with academic publications. It feels accessible and challenging, and is extremely relevant for the time we are working in!”
Deborah McArthur, North Lanarkshire Council Arts Development Officer

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HOW TO ORDER

PDF Copies
If you are interested in reading the full publication, please send me an email, after which I will send you PayPal link for £10. Once received, I will email you a PDF copy of PLACE PEOPLE POWER.

Paper Copies
There are a limited number of paper copies available. If you would like a copy, please send me an email, after which I will send you PayPal link for £15 (£12.50 + £2.50 postage and packaging to mainland UK). Once received, I will post you a paper copy of PLACE PEOPLE POWER.

CPD Workshops
I am delivering CPD and consultancy on this work to organisations across Scotland throughout 2022, so place do not hesitate to get in touch for more information.

“I felt privileged to learn from someone who is clearly so well informed and passionate about the subject of place and participatory theatre. My routine practice was interrupted and I was invited to take the time to think more deeply about why we make the work that we do. Expertly pitched to challenge and facilitated brilliantly!”
– Philippa Tomlin, Culture Collective Lead Artist: Here We Are

Massey, D., 1991. A Global Sense of Place. Marxism Today, June, pp. 24-29