This group has evolved from the ‘Performance and Identity’ group of four theatre and performance researchers at Northumbria in 2014 to now 12 researchers. The group’s research collectively investigates the interdisciplinarity and cultural urgency of the practices, methods and theories through which new socio-political ‘spaces’ are crafted in performance.
Their research spans ‘Theatres of Witness’; the philosophy of performance; historical and contemporary contexts of conflict, crisis, trauma and genocide; socially applied performance both for and with communities; physical performance practices; scenography and costume; and transgender studies and queer theory in contemporary performance.
A recently funded project representative of this group’s research is Patrick Duggan's ‘Social Distancing and Reimagining City Life: Performative strategies and practices for response and recovery in and beyond lockdown’. This will develop imaginative ideas and creative practices to understand and address the impact of COVID-19 on how we live and work in cities.
Visit the Spaces of Appearance in Theatre and Performance website to find out more
