Editorial

With the publication of this issue my period as editor of TRI comes to an end. I was fortunate in being able to inherit from my predecessor, Brian Singleton, a flourishing academic journal that had attained a reputation for academic excellence combined with a broad international perspective. I am often asked to define TRI in comparison to other affined periodicals. This is a difficult but nonetheless important question, not only for the editorial board but also for potential authors. If we look at the policy statement (on the inside back cover) then we find a very broad remit: ‘articles on theatre practices in their social, cultural, and historical contexts’ but also, and perhaps more particularly, a desire to reflect ‘the evolving diversity of critical idioms prevalent in the scholarship of differing world contexts’. The last three words are perhaps the most important in respect to the journal's specific focus. TRI is dedicated to reflecting theatre and performance internationally; it gives special preference to articles outside the usual Euro-American mainstream. In this sense the journal aims to reflect the diversity of the membership of the International Federation for Theatre Research/Fédération internationale pour la recherche théâtrale. It is not, however, a mouthpiece of the organization or any of its constituent bodies. Editorial independence is essential for the functioning of any peer-reviewed journal lest it be seen as catering to interest groups or persons whose political prowess may far exceed their scholarly standing.