Heathcote was an enormously important individual through both her practice and her writings on the development of drama-in-education and improvisation and on the growth of the Theatre-in-Education movement in the 1960s and 70s in Britain. An inspirational teacher both of teachers and of students her work in the classroom developed concepts such a the ‘Mantle of the Expert’ where children, asked to take on the role of expert in classroom improvisations, stepped into the role, demonstrating new capacities for decision-making and responsibility. Through her writing –Drama as Context (1980),Collected Writings 1984 and that of others with her (Gavin Bolton) and about her, and her practice, her work became hugely influential around the world from Soweto to Japan to New Zealand.For Guardian obituary see here or National Drama here.
