Research and innovation

Our research takes a critical approach to exploring the role that performance and the arts play in the creative, cultural and social aspects of society.

Our research

The academic expertise of our staff and research students form a diverse and welcoming community united by a passion for contemporary theatre and performance and the wider arts and cultural sector.

We have a strong interdisciplinary ethos which leads us to collaborate with colleagues from across the University, as well as with universities and industry partners around the world.

Our vibrant and growing community of PhD researchers is an integral part of our research culture and reflects the rich diversity of our School’s research interests.

Research activity in the School is conducted under three interlocking themes which define our unique research identity: Cultural value, engagement and policy; Cultural places, spaces and environments; and Performance pedagogies, processes and practices. Our research centres and groups are each tied to one of these themes.

Research groups

Research in the School of Performance and Cultural Industries is represented by six research groups.

Audience, Experience and Engagement

The Audience, Experience and Engagement research group investigates how audiences engage with and are engaged by a range of theatre forms, performance and the arts.

More on Audience, Experience and Engagement

Bodies and Performance

The Bodies and Performance research group explores the way bodies are performed in their cultural, biological, philosophical, aesthetic and mediated contexts and manifestations.

Centre for Cultural Value

The Centre for Cultural Value is building a shared understanding of the differences that arts, culture, heritage and screen make to people’s lives and to society. It wants cultural policy and practice to be based on rigorous research and evaluation of what works and what needs to change.

Stanislavsky Research Centre

The Stanislavsky Research Centre is a unique international initiative created to provide a home for both academic and practice/performance-based research based upon the work and legacy of Konstantin Stanislavsky.

Impact and engagement

With industry in its name, the School’s research is rooted in strong local, regional, national and international collaborations with external partners ensuring that the impact of our work is felt on society locally and globally. We are proud of the deep relationships our researchers have forged with a broad range of industry partners in culture, environment, health, policymaking, economics and business and we are committed to engaging with the challenging opportunities for real-world change and transformation that these partners demand.

Research Seminar Series

Our regular seminars are an opportunity to hear about and discuss new research in performance and the cultural industries from invited guest speakers, academic researchers and postgraduate research students.

Centre for Practice-led Research in the Arts

The Centre for Practice Research in the Arts (CePRA) brings together scholars from across the arts disciplines whose research employs practice research methodologies.

More on Centre for Practice-led Research in the Arts

Research projects

Our research projects explore a wide range of contemporary issues within the performance and cultural industries, working with partners on a global scale.

Explore our research projects

Visiting scholars

If you are a professional or an academic, and you have a scheme of academic research that you can appropriately conduct at the School of Performance and Cultural Industries, then our visiting scholar programme may be a perfect opportunity for you.

Research and innovation