Inclusive theatre with actors with and without intellectual disabilities: an artistic and collaborative challenge with socio-political ambitions

DOI

In the Netherlands, inclusive theatre makers and actors aim to enhance the quality and recognition of their work. This objective led to a research project with the overarching question: How is collaboration in Dutch inclusive theatres shaped, and what relevant themes can be distinguished? Data were collected through interviews with seven independent theatre makers and members of three participating theatre groups (n=48). Additional co-creation meetings were organized for interviewees with intellectual disabilities. Thematic analyses were conducted using open and axial coding. This resulted in a proposal for a model containing six interconnected core issues prevalent in inclusive theatre practices: 1. Equality and Difference 2. Pushing, Respecting, and Defining Boundaries 3. Authenticity and Artistic Performance 4. Acknowledgment and Innovation 5. Socio-Political, Personal, and Artistic Motivation 6. Comfort and Disruption Inspired by The Atomium Museum in Brussels, this model is called the Atomium Model. Both within the Atomium model as a whole and within individual "atoms," there exists an energetic tension of attracting and repelling forces. We found that the same dynamics are present in the collaboration within inclusive theatre. It is concluded that those involved in inclusive theatres are prepared to continually face artistic and collaborative challenges to fulfill their political ambitions and dismantle prejudices and barriers.

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.34894/SM2RQX
Related Identifier IsCitedBy https://doi.org/10.1080/13569783.2025.2481939
Metadata Access https://dataverse.nl/oai?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_datacite&identifier=doi:10.34894/SM2RQX
Provenance
Creator Cardol, Mieke (ORCID: 0000-0002-7771-770X); Nijkamp, Jeannette ORCID logo; van Huijzen, Selma; Meyer, Hélène; Bussmann, Monique ORCID logo
Publisher DataverseNL
Contributor Cardol, Mieke
Publication Year 2025
Funding Reference Nederlandse organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (SIA-RAAK)
Rights CC-BY-NC-SA-4.0; info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0
OpenAccess true
Contact Cardol, Mieke (Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences)
Representation
Resource Type Dataset
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Version 2.0
Discipline Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Aquaculture; Agriculture, Forestry, Horticulture, Aquaculture and Veterinary Medicine; Life Sciences; Social Sciences; Social and Behavioural Sciences; Soil Sciences