Originating from a research project funded by the Balzan Prize and awarded to Manfred Brauneck, this book aims to offer an extensive examination of the independent European theatre scene, mainly after the 1990s. Although it tries to cover different aspects of this phenomenon, as the title itself suggests, the primary focus is on the structural premises (funding and cultural policies) of the independent theatre scene which figure as the central theme of most of the chapters, leaving its aesthetic angle largely under-discussed. Comprising seven elaborate chapters, authored by prominent scholars affiliated with different German institutions, among others, their topics range from examinations of cultural policies for the independent theatre in different European countries (Wolfgang Schneider) to postmodern theatre in the context of a crisis of modernity (Henning Fülle) and the relation between migration and theatre practice at the European level (Azadeh Sharifi).

The most valuable aspect of the volume is the substantial research work invested in the preparation of each of the contributions, resulting in widely contextualized texts, often documented with case studies. In this sense, the book presents a rich repository of information about developments on the independent European scene, which will be useful as an ample foundation for future scholarly explorations. Moreover, some of the authors (Petra Sabisch, Tine Koch) also venture into formulating criticism of prevailing infrastructural practices in, respectively, European dance and the children's theatre scene, and offer concrete proposals for their improvement, which could be used for future changes in cultural policies. Another very valuable aspect is that a large portion of the book is devoted to an examination of under-researched themes, such as the Eastern European scene (Andrea Hensel) and music theatre (Matthias Rebstock).

In the preface to the volume, Brauneck lays out a survey of the historical emergence of the independent performing arts scene, while at the same time aiming for a terminological clearing of the term ‘independent theatre’ which serves as an important prerequisite for the chapters to follow. In the following chapter, devoted to investigating the relation between ‘artistic, social and economic structures’ (p. 49) in the field of dance, Petra Sabisch substantially criticizes institutional declarations dealing with artists’ working rights – such as UNESCO's Recommendation Concerning the Status of the Artist – for their ineffectiveness, summarizing, ‘The facts are clear – but nothing has happened – for years’ (p. 76). Sabisch goes on to articulate the need for a more qualitative approach in designing funding schemes which should aim at diminishing the instrumentalization of art, exemplifying her ideas through five case studies that offer an innovative approach to contemporary challenges relating to artists’ working conditions, such as Performing Arts Forum, an artist-run forum for performing arts funded by Jan Ritsema in France. Rebstock's chapter, ‘Varieties of Independent Music Theatre in Europe’, provides a useful overview of the theme. Apart from proposing a much-needed terminological clarification of the term in several European languages, Rebstock analyses important contemporary agents in the field of music theatre (venues, ensembles, composers).

Other contributions are rather disappointing. In trying to offer a comprehensive, historical overview of independent theatre practices in post-socialist countries, Hensel's contribution fails to provide a truly contextualized perspective, which is not surprising given the huge scope of such a task. Apart from the brevity of her inquiry (Russia's theatre history surely deserves more than a two-page account), an even bigger problem is the fact that it contains factual mistakes (for instance, connecting the establishment of the first independent theatre groups in Croatia to the Croatian Spring movement), so the final result offers an oversimplified version of Eastern European theatre.

Writing about post-migration theatre practices, Sharifi gives an overview of the state of affairs in eight European countries and analyses three minority theatres (Theatre of the Roma, German-Sorbian Folk Theatre Bautzen, Bimah – Jewish Theatre Berlin), but in both cases offers little problematization of the field and rather opts for a descriptive approach, often stating the obvious, like the fact that ‘many immigrant theatre makers are excluded from public subsidies due to their residence status’ (p. 322).

Finally, it must be stressed that an electronic version of the book is freely available and that it is registered under a Creative Commons license. In this sense, the volume presents a praiseworthy example. Sadly, in addition to the fact that some of the chapters deal with under-researched themes, the book lacks a clear editorial strategy and would have benefited from sharper arguments. With its substantial contribution to the field it will nonetheless spark future debate.