Abstract/Summary

Brighton People’s Theatre and Slung Low are at the forefront of the contemporary people’s theatre movement in the United Kingdom. I examine these companies and the broader utility of a people’s theatre, historically concerned with working class representation and/or performances of civic unity, in the context of economic austerity and inequality. I assert that ideologies and practices of people’s theatres have the capacity to generate networks of solidarity and realise resilience as a mode of care and resistance. I explore how these practices directly intervene in urban governance reaffirming the potential of community-led economic, cultural, and social practices of resilience.