This issue of Performance Research explores the act of repair as it pertains to the broken systems, people and things that we see and experience, and that we break every day. \u2018On Repair\u2019 was made during the global Covid-19 pandemic and, as such, it explores the ways in which this pandemic has accelerated and made visible so many lifeforms and things that are on their last legs, patched over, stretched too thinly or just not given a fair go. Most things, it would appear, seem to be broken in fundamental ways and our institutions, knowledge systems, human relations and the overarching ecosphere are all in urgent need of repair. This issue considers how performance, creativity and the imagination work as a means of repair. Contributors explore what modes of performance dramaturgy and performance criticism are relevant now as ways to rehabilitate and repair the human.<\/p>\n
The Japanese technique of kintsugi\u2014repairing broken objects with filaments of precious metal\u2014reflects close attention to detail, to the minutiae and to an act of repair that enhances the original. This practice is a hopeful one. It teaches us that the human and non-human worlds alike need mending and deep care. Ultimately, this issue explores the act of repair as an act of care. Our aim is to show how artists and thinkers can do this, especially now, when the need for repair is paramount.<\/p>\n