‘Hope in uncertainty’: ethical (and other) encounters in participatory arts. Applying an Ethics and Aesthetics of Care perspective to diverse and difficult community theatre practices in Australia and the UK.

This thesis examines aesthetics and care values in five case studies of working with vulnerable people and fragile subjects. It argues for the place of precarity, ‘not knowing’ and vulnerable authority. It shows how deep care in community arts creates a new aesthetic and ‘pays forward’ to future generations. The results in community can be transformative.