Dr David Coates is now underway with a five-year project on the development of amateur theatre in Britain.

David is co-investigator on the European Research Council funded project 'Performing Citizenship: Social and Political Agency in Non-Professional Theatre Practice in Germany, France, Britain, Sweden and Switzerland (1780-1850)'.

The project team, made up of five scholars, will explore the cultural and political contexts that determined citizenship ideas and practices, as well as theatre. Case studies that focus on France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom will shed light on how amateur theatre gave rise to citizen practices. The findings will help researchers establish the role of non-professional theatre in the shaping of society.

David’s research will focus on the role of amateur performance within social, political, charitable and educative organisations in Britain, such as Literary and Scientific Institutes, Mechanics Institutes, Working Men’s Clubs and Temperance Societies. You can keep up to date with the project’s events and findings by following @TheatreAmateurs on Twitter.

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David recently won the Arts Faculty Award in the Warwick Awards for Teaching Excellence 2022. The award recognises the achievements of Warwick's outstanding educators who have enabled excellent learning, creating the conditions within which all students are supported and empowered to succeed and thrive.