Engaging engaged archives: revisiting Cartoon Theatre

This paper explores our interdisciplinary archival research project 'Exploring Cartoon Theatre, 1965 -1992 - attempting proletarian public spheres across the long crisis‘. 'Cartoon theatre‘ emerged in the alternative theatre movement of the mid-1960s to early 1990s, drawing on cartooning as a visual mode and the structure and iconography of comics - part of wider subversion of theatre practice for political agitation. In engaging with archival material documenting this form of performance, our methodologies are not only grounded in conventional dissemination through writing, but seek to reactivate the subversive spirit of this form of performance. After giving an overview of the project and Cartoon Theatre, we will discuss the potentialities of 'reanimating‘ historical performance work via forms of theatrical and illustration practice which seek to echo Cartoon Theatre‘s embeddedness in the wider political movements of its time.