Risk-taking in Sexual Health Communication and Applied Theatre Practice: What Can Happen?

Abstract

This article argues that risk-taking can be an essential part of applied theatre practice as when it is coupled with a dialogical approach, it can result in a situation where people "encounter risks on their own terms" and engage with discussions around sensitive and controversial subjects such as non-consensual sex. With reference to Beck’s notion of a risk-sharing community, it suggests that in the process of partaking in discussions on such issues, such a community can be established, whereby people take risks by challenging different views as well as taking action by discussing the subject outside of the performance space.