IMS Visiting Research Fellow: Advisor on BBC 4 Programme
Dr Philip Butterworth, a Visiting Research Fellow in the IMS at the University of Leeds, is an advisor on BBC 4's 'Documentary of the Week'.
The Documentary of the Week is titled Lucy Worlsey's Fireworks for a Tudor Queen, and aired 7 March 2018 at 21:00. The programme runs for an hour and 30 minutes. Historian Lucy Worsley teams up with artist and materials scientist Zoe Laughlin to explore the explosive science and fascinating history of fireworks, using an original pyrotechnics instruction manual, and other 400-year-old historical documents, to recreate one of the most spectacular fireworks displays from the Tudor era.
Throughout the show, Worsley explores the history of the three-week extravaganza laid on by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, in his final attempt to win the queen's hand in marriage.
Dr Philip Butterworth has been a Visiting Research Fellow in the IMS at the University of Leeds since he took his pension in 2005. He was formerly Reader in Medieval Theatre and Dean for Research in what is now the Arts Faculty at Leeds. He took his pension in order to concentrate on full-time research, and since 2005 he has published thirteen books as monographs and edited works on medieval theatre. His University of Leeds PhD topic was titled Fire and Flame as Special Effects in the Medieval and Tudor Theatre and this interest continued in later research, leading to his role as advisor on this programme.
