Theatre Studies

Background

Theatre Studies at University of Glasgow has an excellent reputation for both teaching and research, making this the ideal location for postgraduate study. In the 2012 National Student Survey, Theatre Studies at Glasgow received a student approval rating of 100%. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, Glasgow’s Theatre, Film & Television Studies Department was ranked as one of the top five in our field in the UK, with 85% of our research classified as world-leading or internationally excellent.

The MLitt Theatre Studies is designed to help you become proficient in a variety of approaches to the study of theatre – the techniques of historical, sociological and theoretical analysis of the theatrical process, past and present.  It will introduce you to a range of key developments in contemporary theatre practices, as well as to different critical perspectives on theatre history. It will also increase your awareness of current debates surrounding the provision of theatre and allied arts in the United Kingdom, Europe and beyond. The programme encourages you to test theoretical concepts by means of practical experimentation, and it facilitates the establishment of links between students and the professional theatre in Scotland by means of the employment of visiting professional practitioners to teach or lecture, and theatre visits.

The MLitt Theatre Studies programme is delivered by the subject area of Theatre, Film and Television Studies. This has been ranked as one of the top ten in the UK. Our facilities include the Scottish Theatre Archive (housed in the University of Glasgow Library), a studio theatre and a large flexible-stage theatre seating over 200 spectators, alongside a 140-seat cinema. We are part of the School of Culture and Creative Arts. Other subject areas in the School are Music, History of Art and Cultural Policy. This combination of subjects allows for vibrant interdisciplinarity and the exchange of creative practices and knowledge. The School is home to more than a hundred taught postgraduate students, many of them leading and delivering postgraduate student activities (including film screenings, social events, reading groups and the annual postgraduate symposium). Theatre Studies has a friendly and approachable team of permanent staff, with interests ranging from Scottish and German Theatre to Shakespeare to Intercultural Performance to Devising and Physical Theatre. All Theatre Studies staff contribute to the MLitt Theatre Studies programme, engaging their own areas of research expertise to ensure that students are introduced to cutting edge ideas. The friendliness of both staff and students ensures there is a thriving and welcoming teaching, learning and research culture.

Regular seminars and events with invited speakers introduce students and staff alike to key debates in the field. Recent speakers have included Robert Sturm, the Artistic Director of Tanztheater Pina Bausch Wuppertal, performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña and academic practitioners Elinor Fuchs and John Hall.

The city of Glasgow provides an excellent location for the Theatre Studies programme. Glasgow is home to a huge variety of theatres that between them programme and produce shows that range from the experimental and risky to the traditional and repertory, from canonical and new writing to devised and physical performance. Venues include:

•    Citizens’ Theatre
•    The Arches
•    Tramway
•    Theatre Royal
•    Kings Theatre
•    Platform
•    Ramshorn
•    Centre for Contemporary Art

Glasgow is the base for a number of nationally significant theatre organisations too, including the National Theatre of Scotland and the Playwrights’ Studio. The city also hosts annual theatre and performance festivals including: Mayfesto, Glasgay! and Behaviour. Located only 45 minutes by train from Edinburgh, over the month of August you can easily make regular trips through to the Edinburgh Festival.