From Home to Stage: Applied Theatre as Social Practice in a Residential Community

Abstract

This paper examines the role of applied theatre as a tool for community development within contemporary China’s urban context, with a specific focus on its capacity to strengthen community identity and social capital. Drawing on participatory action research, the study analyses two community-based theatre festivals held in 2019 and 2021 within the Lakewood Hills residential complex in Zhuhai, Guangdong. It traces how residents evolved from passive cultural consumers into active co-creators and performers of theatrical art.

The practice followed a four-stage model:

Family Theatre Workshops

Collective Rehearsals

Theatre Forum

Final Performances

Core applied theatre methods—including educational theatre, improvisational, playback theatre and among others, were used to elicit residents’ personal narratives. Fragments of lived experience, such as migration memories, neighbour relations, and identity formation, were collectively devised into original theatrical pieces. Ultimately, residents took the stage as performers, presenting their work to the community.

The study argues that applied theatre, through its participatory, process-oriented, and ritual characteristics, effectively transforms physical residential spaces into emotionally connected communities. It offers a replicable model for addressing the prevalent issue of neighbourhood indifference in upscale urban developments. The final performance represents not merely an artistic product, but a core outcome of sustainable community development: robust social bonds and an active public spirit.