Research overview

Drama at Exeter is an internationally-renowned centre for practice, research and teaching, and offers a supportive and stimulating environment for postgraduate research and practice, welcoming students from around the world. Academic staff research interests are diverse and include international performer training; contemporary performance practices; theatre for cultural development and social change; British Asian performance; dramaturgy, playwriting and adaptation; site-specific performance; theatre historiography; theatre and wellbeing; activism and political performance; nineteenth century popular culture and performance; physical and dance theatre; street arts; diaspora and transnational theatre; environmental humanities; live art; theatre and sound; voice studies; music as performance; eighteenth-century performance; medical humanities; early modern theatre; gender and theatre-making.

Research strengths include:

• the relationship between theory and practice (praxis) between actor and character
• the politics of Shakespeare and English drama
• dramaturgy and writing for performance
• actor and performer training
• vocal practice
• gender and performance
• ancient Greek performance
• the theory of performance and interculturalism
• political and popular theatre
• applied theatre in the community
• performance art, new media, and bioart
• theatre and music / music theatre
• site-specific and site-sensitive performance
• auto-performance and autobiography
• theatre and mental health
• Eastern European theatre
• theatre and religion

The Department has always insisted on the importance of practice, and interest in research through practice is strongly welcomed. This might include a major interest in theatrical direction, performance, or playwriting associated with written study in the dissertation for drama.