Xris Reardon is the Artistic Director of Third Way Theatre.  Xris uses creative methods, theatre in particular, as a means to collectively address both the personal/ social / legislative obstacles to transforming conflict / cultures of alienation.  The desire is to advance spaces for a more just world  in which  basic needs are met,  in order that  life can be lived beyond:  'silence, shame, survival'....beyond fear, into a greater, an undreamt potential of communion.

Third Way Theatre works with the community to find 'creative' means to give voice to narratives that are often hidden, not represented or misrepresented. Stories that address issues of struggle, for justice against systems, policies, normative understandings that create and contribute to discrimination/violence. Communities, through the use of theatre, films, photography, music and dance create narratives that express the symbolic truth of their reality. Stories/ plays, will most often end in unresolved moment. The audiences, a diversity of stake holders, are then asked to engage in an embodied dialogue. They are invited to get up on stage and replace the characters whose struggle they understand in order to create healthy outcomes.  

Third Way Theatre uses theatre to make discoveries, dismantle 'learnt' ignorance through naming obstacles. These learnings are tested out  in the symbolic space of the stage, a place where dreams, and possible steps towards futures of inclusion can be experimented with. 'When you put your body on the line to defend your ideological positions something different happens. In the work for change, safe places to experiment with ideas, solutions....are invaluable before taking these strategies out into the world'" (Xris Reardon A.D) What can occur is: 'an opening to new narratives, to the uniqueness of a moment which has not yet been mapped where there are new possibilities for being together, which is in the end the very heart of politics - the emergence of the new' (a.u) Performance themes to date have focused on Human Rights issues which included: displacement, economic security, racism, child welfare, disability, homelessness, addiction, climate change, transphobia, homophobia, sexual health.