This website articulates and evidences a practice as research (PaR) enquiry led by
Professor Sally Mackey at the Half Moon Young People’s Theatre, Limehouse, London,
UK, in 2012. It is designed for audiences with an interest in practical research
into performing place with young people.
At its simplest level, the research enquiry can be accessed and understood by
following the main pages of this site. Further reflections, supporting evidence and
contextual documentation are offered through links from each page to pdfs, film clips,
audio clips, photographs and other websites. Whilst such extracts aim to represent a
range of different voices and multiple views, a necessarily subjective mediation of
the enquiry is acknowledged. The site has been designed to represent ‘findings’
according to the questions of the research enquiry rather than to present a holistic
account of the project. Selection and editing of material has been undertaken with
that in mind together with a belief that ‘the places used, inhabited and associated
with young people matter’ (Hopkins, 2012: 11).
Half Moon’s Place project stands alone as a research enquiry with its own
research questions. It is also part of Mackey’s AHRC-funded larger research project
‘Challenging concepts of “liquid” place through performing practices in community
contexts’, 2011-2014.
(www.challengingplace.org)
The site is sequential on the whole. It is arranged to flow from one section to the next
with a choice of reading and viewing within each section. The sections comprise:
About the Research, Concepts of Place, Planning the Activities, a choices page leading to
Fearful Place and Everyday Place and Inconclusions.