Book review: Do It Yourself: Making Political Theatre

Sophie Buchaillard

Do It Yourself: Making Political Theatre is a hybrid. Part-retrospective, part-guidebook, and part-campaigning manifesto, the book is the brainchild of Evie Manning, Rhiannon White and Jenny Hughes.

Forwarded by Michael Sheen, DIY: Making Political Theatre retraces the birth of theatre company Common/Wealth and the trio of authors’ vision to make theatre accessible to everyone, by grounding it in the community, bringing shows to everyday places where working class communities live and work – a residential house, a boxing gym, a steelwork.

Moving away from traditional elitist venues, Common/Wealth set out to work with the community to tell stories relevant to everyday lives, blending verbatim, new writing, visually striking design and electronic sounds. Started from a squat in Bristol in 2008 with no funding, the Common/Wealth approach is infused by this culture of making shows through collaborations, with a ‘beg, borrow and steal’ attitude to getting things done.

Community

The use of large reclaimed buildings is a big part of the ethos. Now based in Bradford and Cardiff respectively, Common/Wealth shows are steeped in place, community, the working class experiences and the concerns of our times.

In 2017, Common/Wealth produced ‘We’re Still Here’, a ‘site-specific show inspired by the Save our Steel campaign in Port Talbot. The story was told by a cast of five male actors – four professional and one taking a sabbatical from his steelwork job – alongside a community cast and four teenage performers.’

Theirs is a work of love, passion, pride and resilience destined to nurture the communities with which they work, unearthing talents (sometimes at the bus stop), and showing what can be achieved with an indomitable strength of conviction.

What comes through loud and clear is an equal measure of anger for the continued marginalisation of entire communities, and deep affection for the potential that exists, if only you bother to look. Their mission, and it is a mission, is to reinvent political theatre as amplifying tool to give the silenced a voice. Eevie and Rhiannon worked hard, that much is clear.

Inspiring

They demonstrated that in the absence of funding, anyone can make inspiring theatre, with buckets of ingenuity, resilience, and honesty; and by rallying family, mates, and neighbours so that everyone feels a strong sense of ownership for the work, and recognises themselves in the story.

We wrote this book because we wanted to demystify theatre-making. Our mission was to create a book that anyone—a theatre-maker, a student, an activist, or just someone curious—could pick up and take action with. Inside, you’ll find a retrospective of Common/Wealth’s work, all the lessons, and the knowledge gathered from the incredible people we’ve collaborated with over the years. Rhiannon White

Reading the testimonies from the 24 contributors who share their own experience of working with Common/Wealth, there is a strong unifying fervour for the vision that underpins the theatre company’s work and which is summarised in its manifesto.

The book is presented in sections, with the first part (In Common), telling of the emergence of the theatre company; the second (Making) offering a practical, step-by-step guide, to setting up your own political theatre – supplemented by the advice of 24 contributors who partnered with Common/Wealth on their projects, each bringing expertise in a key area; and a final section (Works) offering a retrospective of some of Common/Wealth’s shows from the past seventeen years, as well as information about four initiatives they helped develop.

Revive

Theirs is a book about making political theatre like a defibrillator to revive convictions and galvanise communities into believing that they can effect change.

In that spirit, Evie, Rhiannon along with co-author Jenny and all their collaborators’ words are anchored in lived experiences and filled with concrete, no-nonsense tips. Nobody takes themselves too seriously here, providing space for the reader to make notes, annotate and enrich what is already there. It is designed to be the sort of portable guide anyone setting out to make theatre should carry in their bag and revisit over and over, not just for the obvious resource it provides, but for the energy that emanates from its pages and will carry you when times are tough.

This is a book to start a movement, to say ‘there is your community. You are not alone. You can do this.’ DIY: Making Political Theatre provides encouragement:‘Don’t be afraid of your own aesthetics’. ‘don’t be afraid to ask’. All the moving parts you will need to make site-specific theatre have been laid out for you – from accessing space to making it secure and accessible (‘be brave’), to setting up activities to collect stories, enrol amateur performers and build a set.

No tools? No problem. ’Use a rolling pin for a hammer’.

Grafting

There is nothing quite like it: sixteen years of grafting and accumulated experience poured between the pages and gifted to you, like a giant leg up.

Beyond that, I felt this book’s intention served a greater purpose. As a former campaigner, the principles of community organising that underpin Common/wealth’s work offer a democratic model of engagement at a time when civic liberties and rights to protest are slipping.

It is a reminder of the role the Arts can play in providing safe spaces where to articulate social challenges in a way that promotes and encourage reflection, communication and empathy.

In a world dominated by Fake News and false truths, this book feels authentic, passionate and strong with human convictions. It is a great gift to us all.

Do It Yourself: Making Political Theatre is published by Manchester University Press and can be purchased here and at all good bookshops.

Sophie Buchaillard is a poet, novelist and critic and the author of Painting over the cracks (Lucent Dreaming, 2025), Assimilation (Honno, 2024) and This Is Not Who We Are (Seren, 2022)