f Performance, revelation and resistance: Interweaving the artistic and the therapeutic in devised theatre

This article describes the process that led to the creation of Positively Shameless, a devised theatre performance that explores emotional and physical residues of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in five adult women in Bangalore, India. The article touches upon the interplay between the therapeutic and artistic perspectives of theatre making and challenges the widely held dichotomy between applied and pure theatre. It also explains the principles that guided the process, with illustrative examples taken from the devising stage and the final piece.