 I'm Peter O'Connor and I'm a specialist in making and researching applied theatre. I've been using theatre in all sorts of dark places for a very long time so I've developed a lot of skills and ways of working which is second hand to me. I've done work in disaster zones post earthquake work since 2008 so for 10 years I was initially invited up to work in China following the earthquake in Sichuan and that work was to help communities to rebuild. Post disaster there's a focus on the physical world when people go into repair and rebuild but a disaster is largely a disaster because of the way in which it impacts on human beings so how do we begin to understand how you can repair and rebuild communities. The arts have always been a tool that we've used to understand the world so when the world tips upside down how do you get it back up again and the role for the arts to do that and that's hugely important. My latest piece of work is making a show with members of the Auckland homeless community as part of the Fringe Festival. The research is leading because it's asking a really difficult question that we don't know the answer to. How do the arts rebuild communities, the invitations that I get to do the work or the teams that I've set up internationally continuing the work. Those two indicators I think let us know that the work's cutting edge.