In the first conceptual overview of current practices and debates in theatre education, Helen Nicholson explores the contribution that professional theatre practitioners make to the education of young people. She maps the environments in which theatre and learning meet, and looks at how the educational concerns and artistic inventiveness of people living in different times and places have inflected theatre and changed education.This inspiring book tells the story of ground-breaking developments of twentieth century theatre education, and explores the ways in which current theatre practitioners have upheld these radical traditions. Helen Nicholson investigates the effects on theatre education of a newly globalised economy, and asks pertinent questions such as: how can theatre education continue to encourage debates about social justice in the political landscape of the twenty-first century? How do the practices, policies and principles of theatre speak to different generations? Offering diverse illustrations of practice from around the world, Helen Nicholson draws on much personal experience and expert knowledge to demonstrate how cutting edge performance practices continue to engage young people today.