Introduction

This chapter outlines the aims of the book, the questions that motivate it, and its context. It reflects on how discussion of audience participation has often prioritised political or pedagogical efficacy and ethical exceptionalism, or championed particular qualities of experience (e.g. immersion), at the expense of understanding the great variety of processes and outcomes that these practices can provoke. A provisional definition of audience participation is offered, to facilitate analysis across very diverse forms of performance, and the core assumption is asserted: that procedures of inviting and managing participation are artistic work with the potential complex aesthetic outcomes. There is an extended literature review, new for this second edition, summarising recent work in sub-fields of theatre and performance studies, and noting recent developments in theatre and performance practice.