Towards a new 'we': Applied theatre as integration

Abstract

This article presents the Norwegian applied theatre project called P:UNKT, which suggests a meeting point, a crossroads and encounters. The aim of the project was to stimulate integration and cultural diversity, with the outreach nature of P:UNKT resulting in new ways of interaction and collaboration across groups and institutions. I conducted research on the project from 2010 to 2012 and three years later, in 2016. I claim that the project enabled ethnic Norwegians and immigrants to create unique storytelling theatre together that transcended the conventional preconceptions of us and them, resulting in the emergence of a new ‘we’. This type of social and applied theatre run by a professional, state-funded theatre is not common in Norway. The findings of my research are therefore of relevance to local communities, theatre companies and politicians. The P:UNKT project is an example of the active role that applied theatre can play in shaping Norwegian identity construction in the twenty-first century.