Performing Partnership: The possibilities of decentring the expertise of international practitioners in international Theatre for Development partnerships

Building effective global partnerships are a key focus of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will shape how international development looks until 2030. This article explores how international partnerships in applied theatre/Theatre for Development (TfD) initiatives are performed, and draws on the author’s own experience of being employed on a freelance basis by a non-governmental organization (NGO) to build on the skills of a Ugandan team to utilize theatre. Throughout the article, key moments during a month-long period of training are reflected upon and analyzed with reference to debates within international development, postcolonial studies and applied theatre. Through synergizing these debates, it is suggested that a decentring of Western ‘expertise’ enables more effective partnerships to emerge.