As RiDE celebrates its 30-year anniversary in 2026, this themed issue invites critical and imaginative consideration of applied theatre and drama education futures. What will the terrain of applied theatre, drama education and applied performance look like by 2056? In assembling the issue, we have conceived of three sections: articles focusing on the past and present, practices which gesture towards the future and articles that envision imagined futures. We hope this issue provokes you to think about where the discipline has been, worry about where it might be going and imagine what else might be possible …