The School of Creative Arts, Performance and Visual Cultures is delighted to announce that Yvette Hutchison has been promoted to the role of Professor. Yvette has made a significant contribution to the disciplines of theatre and performance studies during her career thus far, particularly in the areas of theatre in the African context, South African Theatre and intercultural performance practices. Most recently she has developed the African Women Playwrights Network (AWPN). Her next collaborative project with Lliane Loots of Flatfoot Dance Company, will trace the relationship between disability dance and citizenship with specific companies in various Africa countries. Congratulations Yvette from colleagues, students and alumni!

Yvette Hutchison has a chapter entitled 'Calling everything into question: articulations of black women in post-1994 South African commemoration' in Gender, Transitional Justice and Memorial Arts Global Perspectives on Commemoration and Mobilization, edited by Jelke Boesten and Helen Scanlon, published by Routledge. This book comes out of an AHRC funded project in the Department of International Development, King’s College London & Politics at University of Capetown, SA, for which Yvette was an advisor. The project looked at the role of post-conflict memorial arts in bringing about gender justice in transitional societies, modelling examples in the UK, Chile and SA. It brings together transitional justice, memory studies, post-conflict peacebuilding, human rights and gender studies.

The book will be launched on Thursday 27 May at 1pm GMT, from Lima, London, Cape Town, and Nairobi with Nompilo Ndlovu, Pena Brock, Alex Hibbett, Rachel Kerr & Ester Muinjangue on the panel. Contact Yvette if you want to join the launch.

Theatre and Performance Studies at Warwick is inviting applications from eligible students for Commonwealth Shared Scholarships to study our new MA Applied Theatre: Arts, Action, Change.

Candidates will need to have applied, and received an offer, for the degree by 26^th March 2021. You can apply here https://warwick.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/taught/courses-2021/appliedtheatre/.

Selected applicants will then be nominated and work with us to draft their application for the scholarship, and will need to submit a separate application online direct to Commonwealth Scholarships by 9^th April 2021 https://cscuk.fcdo.gov.uk/scholarships-filter-search/ 

Level of support provided

• Course fees will be covered

• Airfares to and from the UK (must be booked in line with CSC’s travel policy)

• Grant to contribute to study-related costs (exact amount to be confirmed)

• Tuberculosis test fees at a pre-determined amount set by the CSC where required by UK Visas and Immigration

• Excess baggage allowance on return home up to the specific rate as set by the CSC

• Disability Support Allowance for personal living costs (if eligible)

• For Scholars who are widowed, divorced, or a single parent, child allowance of £478 per month for the first child, and £118 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16 (at 2020/2021 rate)

• Stipend (living allowance) at the rate of £1116 per month

• Warm clothing allowance of £433

Candidate eligibility

Candidates are expected to hold a first degree at either first class or upper-second class level, or at lower-second class level plus a Master’s degree. The CSC cannot assess work experience in lieu of this minimum academic qualification. Pre-sessional English courses are not supported by this programme. Universities must therefore confirm that candidates are sufficiently fluent in written and oral English to pursue their studies immediately and ensure that they meet the English language requirement set by UK Visas and Immigration. To apply for these scholarships, candidates must:

• Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person

• Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country

• Be available to start their academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September/October 2021

• By October 2021, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) standard, or a second-class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree).

• Not have studied or worked for one (academic) year or more in a high-income country (for CSC purposes this is classified as a country which does not appear on the DAC list of ODA recipients.

• Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship (note the university may be asked to state its procedures for verifying applicants’ financial status).

• Commit to return to their home country within one month of the end date of their scholarship

Please note These eligibility criteria are current as of October 2020 and are subject to minor changes.

Eligible countries

Bangladesh; Cameroon; Eswatini; The Gambia; Ghana; India; Kenya; Kiribati; Lesotho; Malawi; Mozambique; Nigeria; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Rwanda; Sierra Leone; Solomon Islands; Sri Lanka; Tanzania; Tuvalu; Uganda; Vanuatu; Zambia

On 4 February 2021 the Leamington Observer reported that the Talisman Theatre in Kenilworth had reflected on its whiteness, and has reaffirmed its commitment to diversity. This commitment has included partnering with Dr Yvette Hutchison's African Women Playwrights Network so that it can begin to change its position as a venue which has 'a very white membership, choosing plays mainly about white people, by white authors, presented to a mainly white audience' (Leamington Observer).