Applied theatre in times of terror: Accepting aesthetic diversity and going beyond dilemma

Through historical evidence and a research review, the positive assumption behind the Norwegian project is that theatre may provide democratic inclusion where any felt understanding can be accepted as aesthetically valid insights to be uttered on stage. This is how drama is created, and ultimately how diversity is treated and tolerated. However, dilemmas occur when applied theatre aims to be participatory democracy in action. These dilemmas, which are linked to conflicting practices and discourses, as the French philosopher Jacques Rancière (2004) shows, also connect to conflicting aesthetic thinking or regimes. The particular dilemma discussed here deals with the location of aesthetic autonomy as well as the dilemma of free utterance versus transformed mediation. A short analysis of two contemporary performance cases further illuminates the dilemma.