Drama and Theatre: How They Changed Their Vagabond Past and Became Educational and Clinical Specialisms

Dramatic performance through rituals and ceremonies has an ancient and respected past, for celebration, status confirmation, and healing. This is particularly so in non-Western cultures. However, in the United Kingdom and the West, it has had a chequered development, and actors for many years were considered vagabonds and of questionable reputation. Initiatives in drama and theatre in education enabled the development of drama as a therapy. However, there was less emphasis on the art form, as in other arts therapies, and more focus on techniques. Performance for healing in dramatherapy slowly became eroded. Parallel to drama as a therapy, psychodrama slowly emerged as an approach to therapeutic applications of role-play. Attention is drawn to the very early dramatic expression, through neuro-dramatic-play, commencing during pregnancy.