Editors Veronica Baxter and Katherine E. Low offer a well-curated investigation into the material, theoretical and ethical concerns that impact applied-theatre performances of health and well-being. Global in scope, the volume incorporates a diverse group of contributors working in different regional contexts, each offering critical and artistic responses to a range of community health issues. In keeping with this broad approach, Baxter and Lowe structure the book into two sections. The first section posits key terms and considerations relevant to performances of health and well-being. The second section homes in on specific case studies through the presentation of essays, snapshots and interviews. Ultimately, this structure serves to simultaneously contest and celebrate performance-based responses to various health challenges while inviting continued innovation in this growing field.

Baxter and Low's introduction provides a useful framework for approaching applied-theatre performances of health and well-being. Here, they define applied theatre as ‘theatremaking with, for and by particular groups of people and in locations that are not traditionally associated with theatre’ (p. 5). Additionally, Baxter and Lowe isolate four categories of performance-based interventions employed by applied-theatre practitioners working in health-related contexts: educational work around health issues, art making/making art in response to specific health issues, addressing health through creativity/artistry/art making, and projects that seek to research health through performance methodologies (p. 6). While the editors note that not all applied-theatre practice falls neatly into the aforementioned categories, the early definitional work provided in the introduction creates clarity and cohesion that carries over into the remainder of the volume. This is particularly important given the differing and at times disparate perspectives offered by various contributors. Baxter and Low continue this work in the first section of the book, suggesting useful concepts of health, well-being and aesthetics while creating a shared vocabulary that feeds into the following section.

Part Two offers an array of case studies related to specific aspects of health and well-being, including ageing, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, sexual health, cancer, women's health and gender inequity, mental health, environmental health and addiction, among others. Of particular note are several interviews with artists including Liz Rothschild (Kicking the Bucket: A Festival of Living and Dying), Johayne Hildefonso (Dengue Fever Project) and Vitor Pordeus (The Madness Hotel and Spa). Although the pieces included are too numerous to explicate here, many suggest innovative concepts and strategies relevant to performing health and well-being. Among these are Julian Robbins, Warren Linds, Linda Goulet, Jo-Ann Episkenew and Karen Schmidt's essay on Indigenous perspectives on well-being, wherein the authors conceptualize applied theatre as a decolonizing practice. Nandita Dinesh's account of performing women's well-being in India outlines a capability-focused methodology that uses applied theatre to highlight women's abilities, rather than attempting to build performances in response to perceived deficiencies. Writing on their collaborative performance, Deirdre McLaughlin and Joanne Scott conceptualize ‘medical dramaturgy’ (p. 238) as a tool to explore the subjective structures that contour a medical event or diagnostic experience, thus offering performance as a means to challenge medical hierarchies. The critical depth and artistic care exhibited in these pieces attest to the power of applied theatre as it is practised globally.

While the scope of the book may at times favour variety over depth, this breadth serves to illustrate the vast amount of work already being done at the crossroads of applied theatre and health and well-being. Each piece would be a welcome subject for further study, and the structure of the book – including a wealth of primary sources – lends itself to future study. Furthermore, the editors masterfully shape the volume in order to make the information cohesive and generative. Through brief introductions to each section, Baxter and Low highlight critical themes echoed throughout the volume. These themes include disparities in health and well-being in the global North and global South, the impact of neoliberalism on applied theatre practice, medical versus cultural models of health and well-being, the use of instrumentalization to quantify outcomes, and a consideration of applied-theatre aesthetics.

Ultimately, the concerns raised in Applied Theatre: Performing Health and Wellbeing constitute a welcome invitation for continued research. The work presented will certainly be of interest to scholars and practitioners of applied theatre and theatre for social change, as well as individuals in the fields of health communication and education. Appropriate for students, scholars and artists alike, this timely volume is an invaluable resource (and perhaps required reading) for those seeking to mobilize performance in the service of global health and well-being.