Culture from Crisis: How Theatre Can Connect Us to the Places We Are Separated From
Culture from Crisis explores the pivotal role of theatre as a medium for reconnection in times of physical, social, and emotional separation. It will delve into how theatre, historically a communal art form, becomes a critical bridge during crises—whether they be global pandemics, war, political conflicts, or social dislocation—allowing individuals and communities to feel reconnected to cultural, geographic, and emotional spaces from which they may be separated.
Theatre, by its nature, is an embodied experience that requires presence and co-creation between performer and audience. However, in moments of crisis—such as the COVID-19 pandemic, mass displacement, or political oppression—physical spaces and the families, friends and communities that inhabit them often become inaccessible. This presentation explores how a group of students managed such separations through performance, creating new ways for individuals to engage with and reclaim the cultural spaces they are distanced from.
The discussion will highlight two particular productions from a company I had the pleasure of supporting, focusing on how they fostered connection to home, identity, and heritage.
We’ll explore the emotional reconnection that creating and designing theatre can facilitate, particularly in helping audiences and participants understand and process feelings of loss, alienation, and disconnection. Theatre’s unique ability to generate empathy and collective reflection can be a vital tool for healing and recovery in post-crisis contexts, reaffirming bonds between individuals, their communities, and their cultural roots.
Ultimately, *Culture from Crisis* demonstrates that even when physical proximity is disrupted, theatre has the capacity to transcend borders and foster a deep sense of connection, helping us reclaim the places—both literal and figurative—that we have been separated from.
Jacqui has been working in Stage and Production Management for the last 25 years. with a major focus on Conservatoire training. She has taught at several conservatoires and is a Master of Education and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. In 2018 Jacqui joined the senior leadership team at Sharjah Performing Arts Academy to design and implement a Conservatoire performing and production arts undergraduate training, the first of its kind in the MENA region.
Jacqui has worked with professional companies such as National Theatre Wales, National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and Shared Experience. She has toured the UK extensively, produced Rep seasons in the West End, and internationally worked in Shanghai; World Expo, Berliner Festspiele, and Paphos; City of Culture. Jacqui also enjoys producing work with her and her husband’s company, We Made This.
Jacqui was one half of Stand By Please, the stage management podcast and is currently writing a book to be published by Routledge “The Art of Collaboration”.