Performing Nursing: BC Nurses’ Union Theatre Project

Abstract

We examine a collaborative theatre project, between Vancouver theatre artists and the British Columbia Nurses’ Union (BCNU). We consider conflict that emerged in and around the project in an effort to understand some of the potentials of theatre as a technology for social change and broader debates about the politics of representation. Theatre is a rich site for thinking about epistemologies that blur the line between context and text, and text and embodied practice. The space of theatre does not hold still but works with and moves into other spaces. This can be understood through the concept of 'interspatiality.' We end by considering how theatre might move into the space of academic writing and practice.