Theatre and Performance Studies News
TOP STORY: TaPRA 2025 Conference to be hosted at Warwick
We're delighted to announce that the annual Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA) conference will be hosted by Theatre and Performance Studies at Warwick between 27 and 29 August 2025. The conference will mark both the 20th birthday of TaPRA and the 50th anniversary of Theatre and Performance Studies at Warwick. Our conference keynotes, plenary panels, artistic activity, conference dinner and programmed events will speak to the themes of milestones and markers, focussing on celebrations, festivities, spectacle and joy. We'll look forward to welcoming you to Warwick next year!
To keep up to date with the conference plans, please visit our dedicated TaPRA pages here.
ONLINE SYMPOSIUM: THEATRE AND DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIPS - 23rd SEPTEMBER 2021
- What are the implications of the recent 'global turn' in development studies for those of us involved in theatre and performance projects that relate to development outcomes?
- Might the renewed focus 'global partnerships', as outlined by the Sustainable Development Goals, offer new possibilities to work together? Or is it just more of the same empty rhetoric?
- In terms of attempts to create more equal and mutually beneficial projects, what might success look like?
A Window on Applied and Socially Engaged Performance at Warwick – 24th February 5-6pm.
Join us online to find out more about the projects and research we are leading, the kinds of applied and socially engaged work that takes place at Warwick, and the communities we are connected to. We will explore what it means to be involved in social action through theatre and performance today, and what challenges and possibilities we are presented with.
We will begin the event by hearing from a panel of practitioners and academics at Warwick. They will share examples of their recent practice and research. We will then open up for a discussion relating to applied and socially-engaged performance.You will also be able to ask further questions you may have concerning the MA Applied Theatre: Arts, Action, Change.
The panel will include:
Max Dean, a PhD researcher at Warwick and Director at C&T, one of the Associate Companies for the MA. C&T combines applied theatre methodologies with digital technologies to explore and grow creativity with children and adults.
Saul Hewish, one of the country's leading practitioners in the use of drama and theatre with offenders. In 1999 he co-founded RideOut (Creative Arts for Rehabilitation), which develops innovative and experimental arts-based projects within the criminal justice system.
Professor Nadine Holdsworth, whose research spans questions of representation, participation, citizenship, political change and cultural value. She explores how theatre, performance and arts-based methodologies can be used to illuminate pressing social issues and marginalised groups.
Dr Yvette Hutchison, a South African academic whose work focuses on Anglophone African theatre, dance and intercultural performance. She has taught on and worked in various theatre for development and community theatre projects in Africa and the UK.
The session will be chaired by Dr Bobby Smith, a researcher and practitioner whose current work focuses on applied theatre and global development.
Confirm your attendance here https://your.warwick.ac.uk/form/spotlightontheatre
Bobby Smith has edited a section in the latest issue of Research in Drama Education (RiDE) on theatre and development
Bobby Smith has edited a section in the latest issue of RiDE (vol. 25, No. 4).
Researchers and practitioners were invited to reflect on a range of issues and approaches. Their responses are varied and diverse, ranging from a consideration of Tiv Kwagh-hir performance in Nigeria as an alternative to dominant modes of practice, a project in Bangladesh exploring the climate crisis through Pot Gan, and reflections on issues of equality, global partnerships and networks. The section also includes a contribution from another member of Theatre and Performance Studies at Warwick, Dr Susan Haedicke. Her article examines how the Coalition of Immokalee Workers in the US is using theatre in popular education to support their wider work, which aims to improve conditions for migrant farmworkers and change agricultural practices.
Clive Barker Award for Performance
This award is designed to provide practical and financial support for Theatre and Performance Studies students who plan to create a piece of extra-curricular performance work in the department with a view to submitting this work to the Edinburgh Festival or a similar public platform. The recipients of this award will receive up to £600 to help mount the work.