FOUND IN TRANSLATION: Transcultural Performance Practice in the 21st Century

This practice-led PhD proposes Cultural Translation as a methodology for engaging with transcultural performance as innovative and ethical practice. The investigation draws upon the decade-long collaboration between Australian contemporary performance company Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre and Japanese Butoh company Dairakudakan. The study addresses questions regarding the transposition of cultural product; the ethics of cultural exchange; and artistic innovation in transcultural performance praxis. The study's findings include a cultural translation of Maro Akaji's Butoh training and devising. These methods profoundly influenced the creation of "In the Company of Shadows", the original performance work which constituted the core of this study