Vernacular Theatre

Making Theatre with Community

Jonathan Petherbridge

$165.95

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Intellect Books
24 November 2025

Theatre Studies; Theatre direction & production

Reimagining theatre as a living, breathing collaboration between professional artists and the communities they serve.

Jonathan Petherbridge reflects on three decades as Artistic Director of London Bubble, where he brought together volunteer and professional artists to create a form he calls Vernacular Theatre. Emerging from a collaborative methodology known as the Foraging Process, Vernacular Theatre transforms communal stories into striking performances infused with an aesthetic of care.

Interspersed with case studies from London and Hiroshima, Vernacular Theatre examines how theater can honor local history, address contemporary issues, and create spaces for collective expression. By drawing connections to the ancient Greek chorus, Petherbridge proposes a new genre of socially engaged performance; one that invites people of all ages to gather, create, and share. This work is a blueprint for theatre-makers and readers invested in participatory arts and community storytelling.

By: Jonathan Petherbridge
Imprint: Intellect Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 244mm, Width: 170mm,
ISBN: 9781835951897
ISBN 10: 1835951899
Pages: 182
Publication Date: 24 November 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Jonathan Petherbridge has been making theatre within community for over forty-years and has seen the context change radically – and his practice has changed with it. He has run building-based theatres, pioneered outdoor promenade theatre and developed methodologies to work with different age groups and collectively, across generations.