Hearing Children’s Voices: Is Anyone Listening?

Abstract

This chapter demonstrates how applied theatre as research might place children’s voices at the forefront of government policy. So much is done for and to children: where are the opportunities for children to be heard speaing about important aspects of their lives? We reflect on 12 years of an applied theatre project, Everyday Theatre, designed to provide a forum for children to understand and respond to family violence and child abuse. We present a case study of adapting this project to work with vulnerable children to inform policy on placing children in care. The chapter is presented as a script, co-created with the children.