The who, what, where, why and when!
The company I chose to look at that work in an applied theatre context are a registered charity from Leeds called ‘imagine if’. They were founded in 2015 by Francesca Joy who determined it to be her mission to instigate change into people’s lives through theatre. The key purpose of ‘imagine if’ is to actively improve disadvantaged people’s lives. They usually work predominantly with prisoners and people with convictions who have a range of disadvantages including mental health issues, homelessness, victims of abuse, low literacy levels, unemployment and low socio-economic backgrounds. Their mission statement is very strong and clear. They simply work endlessly to place those in society without a voice at the forefront of ‘imagine if’ productions.