But Daley, what are the strengths of their practice!?
‘imagine if’ have the massive strength in their back pocket of being inclusive and using theatre to bring people to the forefront of productions allowing them a voice. I firmly believe they follow the philosophy that is put before us in ‘The Ethics of Applied Theatre’ on page 98 of; “If theatre was only a skills training method for probation clients to practice roles that they could then perform in later life, we (potentially lose) the complexity of the theatre workshop and performance process as a dynamic, difficult, rich moment in itself” (Thompson, 2000). When working with their participants, ‘imagine if’ use their workshops to focus on a central principle and to produce ambiguous moments the participants can take away from the process. In their last project which had been delivered in prisons, the principle was showing the value the arts have on changing people’s lives. They used theatre techniques to help improve interpersonal skills, communications skills, employability and personal narratives to combat risk factors for criminal behaviour.