Specialist Knowledge: Theatre in Health Education

Abstract

Health promotion researchers Lawrence Green and Marshall Kreuter define health education as: ‘any combination of learning experiences designed to facilitate voluntary actions conducive to health’ (quoted in O’Donnell, 2002: 364). This chapter will consider the efficacy of theatre as a teaching tool and a catalyst for action within health and care. I will examine the relationship between drama and pedagogy and the critical and practical tensions which may arise within projects that seek to combine theatre and health education. I shall consider the history of the use of theatre as an educational intervention and examine how drama has been used to impart knowledge and open up opportunities. In particular, I shall focus on the importance of narrative as a means of engaging with an audience. The chapter draws on international case studies — the community-based work of Nalamdana in southern India and the peer-education programme of the NiteStar Program in New York — both of which deal with AIDS/HIV/sexual health education. In examining the work of these companies I shall remain sensitive to contextual detail which shapes the practice — in terms of cultural climate, disease iteration and healthcare provision.