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Welcome

To Year 3 of IN PLACE OF WAR from everyone in the In Place of War team.

The IN PLACE OF WAR project was founded by Professor James Thompson in 2000 and is now in the third year of a funded stage of development supported by the AHRC.

From the Greeks to Shakespeare, war has been a major theme in theatre and performance. However some of the most astounding and demanding performance projects in recent years have not been about war but have come from war zones themselves.

In Place of War is concerned with these initiatives - theatre in refugee camps, in war-affected villages, in towns under curfew, in cities under occupation, in refugee communities in foreign/host countries. Why in times of disruption have individuals and communities turned to performance? The project aims to research, link, debate and develop the practice of performance in sites of conflict - bringing together theatre makers and scholars who practice performance: in place of war.

Year 2 of the project has involved consolidation of work completed in year one, including ongoing international field trips and research with refugee performance projects in the UK. In Place of War researchers have visited theatre projects in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, The Palestinian Territories, Israel, Sudan, Rwanda, Ghana, Kosovo, DR Congo and Northern Ireland. We have also worked closely with theatre makers in the UK who have created projects in response to the ongoing 'war on terror'.

One of the highlights of Year 2 included the Reflections seminar on the 25th November 2006.  Reflections was a public event at the University of Manchester on theatre and performance in places of conflict and with displaced people in the UK and internationally.  The seminar was supported by the Arts Council England and included presentations by invited speakers from Sri Lanka, Burundi, Lebanon, Sudan, Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, N Ireland and theatre practitioners associated with the Exodus Onstage theatre season in Manchester.  Reflections provided practitioners and members of the public an opportunity to meet, collaborate and create international networks related to theatre and performance with those who have experienced conflict or its effects.

Reflections culminated in an evening event associated with the Exodus Onstage season of refugee theatre with the performance of A Letter from Home.  A Letter from Home was a new production inspired by the experiences of the Congolese community in Manchester that explored issues of conflict, immigration, corruption and refugee identity.  Scripted by a Congolese playwright, Frederick Yamusangie, the performance incorporated narrative, testimony and live music and was led by Jean Azip from the Manchester based music band Britannia Rumba.

Looking ahead to the culmination of this phase of the project, there are a number of dissemination events planned, including a major contribution to War and Our World, a three day international and interdisciplinary conference.

To visit the War and Our World website click here

In addition, the project is pleased to announce the launching of a major project output, the on-line database.  Using the database, academics, students, artists and members of the public can access information on theatre companies and related organisations, theatre arts projects and theatre practitioners around the world.  The database also contains select 'artefacts' from international conflict zone and UK refugee arts projects including: pictures, scripts, interview transcripts, publicity fliers, logos and programmes.

In Place of War has also secured a contract to publish a book documenting the many remarkable examples of theatre practice in places of war encountered over the course of the project.

The project team continue to be keen to meet, learn from and engage with practitioners and scholars involved in theatre and performance from conflict and war zones internationally. On this web site you will find more details of the project, access to the database, ways that you can be involved, information about our latest activities and forthcoming events. Please contact us and get involved.