2024

• WALKING TOUR. Developed an alternative West End walking tour, narrating a history of amateur theatre in Britain. This was tested in May 2024.
• LECTURE. Invited lecture: 'Recovering Britain’s Amateur Theatrical Past 1789-1914: a South West England Perspective'. This online evening lecture was delivered as part of the University of West England's free public-facing programme, organised by their Regional History Centre in partnership with Bristol Museums, 18 January 2024.
• WRITING. Two paragraphs published in John Byrne's careers page of The Stage (August) responding to the question: ‘How to write a personal statement from a student who sees themselves as more of a performer rather than a writer’.
• WIKI. Editor for the 'Amateur Theatre Wiki' - a site dedicated to recording details of amateur theatre practice today and in the past.

2023

• LECTURE. Invited lecture: 'Recovering Britain’s Amateur Theatrical Past 1789-1914: a Glamorgan Perspective'. This afternoon lecture was delivered in-person as part of the public-facing programme at Glamorgan Archives. There was an opportunity to get hands-on with materials from Glamorgan Archives and David's own private collection. 5 October 2023.
• ROLE. Fellow of the Warwick Institute for Engagement (2023-2025).

2022

• TALK. Invited to present the ‘Performing Citizenship’ project as part of the University of Warwick’s Research Celebration event on 14 December 2022. David gave an overview of the ‘Performing Citizenship’ project and made the case for why the study of amateur theatre is important and timely.

2021

• CURATION / EVENT. Faculty of Arts Curator and lead organiser for the opening of the Faculty of Arts Building (FAB) for which he also became an Honorary Fellow of the Warwick Institute for Engagement (WIE) 2021-2022.
• WRITING. Interview and citation in 'Five mistakes to avoid when completing your UCAS application', article in The Stage, 2 December 2021.

2020

• EVENT. Organiser of the Shelley Legacies Heritage Day at the Shelley Theatre in Boscombe, Dorset, which took place on 29 February 2020. This included delivery of a lecture on 'The Shelley Family's Theatrical Legacies'. You can find more details about the event here

2019

• LECTURE. Delivery of 'The Forgotten Shelley: A Work in Progress' - a short performance piece as part of Warwick's Institute for Advanced Studies Research Cabaret (31 May 2019). You can watch the event here.

2017

• WRITING. Published 'Re-purposing Boscombe's Shelley Theatre' - an article for the Theatres Trust's Theatres Magazine, Autumn edition.
• WRITING. Published 'Researching and Archiving Amateur Theatre' for Sardines, a magazine for amateur theatre practitioners, Autumn edition.
• PODCAST. 'Rethinking Amateur Theatricals with David Coates', an episode of HowlRound: the Theatre History Podcast with Michael Lueger, August.
• WRITING. Published 'Amateur Theatre in the Long Nineteenth Century, 1789-1914' - an article for the Theatres Trust's Theatres Magazine, Summer edition.
• LECTURE. Invited to deliver a lecture for the Society for Theatre Research's (STR) annual lecture series. The lecture was titled 'A Whistle-Stop Tour of Nineteenth Century Amateur Theatricals', Swedenborg Hall, London.

2016

• LECTURE. Delivered the annual public Shelley Lecture at the Shelley Theatre in Boscombe, Dorset, on 23 April 2016. The title of the lecture was 'The Boscombe Manor Theatre: A History of Nineteenth Century Amateur Theatricals'.
• HOST. Regular host of Warwick Arts Centre's post-show talks from 2016 to the present.
• WRITING/ BLOG. Contribution to the STR's blog titled 'Innovation in Research, Innovation in the STR'.

2015

• TALK. Invited to talk to the Whitwell History Society. The talk was titled 'A Peep Behind the Curtain: Private and Amateur Theatricals in Britain's Great Houses'.

2013

• TALK. Invited to talk at the Staffordshire Record Office. The talk as also titled 'A Peep Behind the Curtain: Private and Amateur Theatricals in Britain's Great Houses'.
• PROGRAMME NOTES. Invited to contribute programme notes to accompany the national tour of the Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds's Mansfield Park. The article contextualises the theatricals in the plot of Jane Austen's novel.

2012

• TALK. Invitation to talk to the volunteer guides at the National Trust's Lyme Park to contextualise a stage being erected in the Long Room as part of the current exhibition. The talk was titled 'Nineteenth Century Amateur Theatricals at Lyme Park'.

2010

• TALK. Invitation to deliver a talk at Chesterfield Library on 'Private and Amateur Theatricals at Chatsworth House: 1880-1914'. This was then repeated for the volunteer guides at Chatsworth House to better contextualise the property's private theatre.