{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.0240343347639485, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0017167381974248926, 'mean_word_length': 5.199468085106383, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Dramatherapy and Social Theatre: Necessary Dialogues by Jennings, S. (Ed.). Current Approaches in Drama Therapy by Johnson, D. R., & Emunah, R. (Eds.).

Throughout human history drama has provided a lens through which people could explore and grapple with social issues. Drama has also served a therapeutic purpose. The connection between healing and the arts is an ancient one. In Poetics, Aristotle wrote of the cathartic function of tragedy as the release of deep feelings by audience members and empathetic connections to the characters they were watching. Aristotle wrote that through sharing of cathartic and empathetic feelings, audience members released harmful emotions allowing them to move toward greater harmony and social healing (Bailey, 2006). The cathartic process remains a foundational concept of drama therapy across many different approaches to the field. Drama actively mirrors humans’ struggles to understand their world and their place in it. One need only think of the themes of the great Greek plays, Shakespeare’s eloquent thoughts on the human condition, and Fugard’s poignant and politically relevant masterpieces to begin to understand the role that theatre has played throughout history “to hold as ‘twere the mirror up to nature.” Drama and its manifestation through the theatrical form provide a meaningful context for people to grapple with relevant issues and gain greater personal insight. Drama entertains and enlightens us; drama focuses and elevates the human condition. Two recent texts from the field of drama therapy offer insight on the multiple ways in which theatre is utilized toward social and therapeutic purposes. Dramatherapy and Social Theatre, edited by leading British drama therapist and theatre maker Sue Jennings, provides a compelling collection of essays by theatre practitioners and drama therapists on the role of theatre in society. David Read Johnson and Renée Emunah are renowned drama therapists in the United States. Their textbook Current Approaches in Drama Therapy is an excellent and comprehensive overview of the field. Taken together, these texts offer a thorough and highly interesting overview of the history, role, and potential impact of drama-related therapies and practices. Individually, they each serve a distinct purpose: Jennings’ text challenges the