Dr Malaika Cunningham is Artistic Director of The Bare Project, a theatre practitioner and a democratic theorist. Her research explores the role of participatory theatre spaces for political discourse, exchange between strangers and imagination. She has also written on political engagement, participatory arts, and co-productive policy-making. In her research, she brings together her practice as a theatre maker and her academic background in political theory. She completed her PhD in summer 2020 at the University of Leeds as part of Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity.