The European Theatre Research Network (ETRN)

The European Theatre Research Network is a partnership of three higher education institutions committed to researching theatre- and performance-making in Europe, along with its contexts, theories and histories: the University of Kent; the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London; and Aarhus University (Denmark). 

Central’s researchers working across fourteen languages have a commitment to work that engages with issues of dramaturgy, theatre-making and theatre criticism in Europe.

We think of Europe not as a fortress, but as a porous continent that owes a debt to, and is permeated by, practices and histories of other continents. ETRN aims to investigate the way that experimentation and innovation happen across broad European contexts ranging from repertory theatres to avant-garde laboratory groups. We plan to build on our combined research expertise in European theatre, which includes aspects of contemporary British practice by collaborating on joint projects in the future. Our mission is to explore theoretical and practical connections across performance and geospatial borders and to function as a link between non-English European theatre discourses and practices and the Anglophone world. Areas of specialism include: modern and contemporary theatre and performance in Germany, Italy, Spain, the former Yugoslavia, Romania, Poland, Denmark, and other contexts; performer training in Eastern and Western Europe; Grotowski’s legacy; ensemble practice, directing, dramaturgy, and theatre systems; European performances of Shakespeare and other classics; dance theatre; European philosophy and performance studies; contemporary playwriting in Europe and its translations; theatre criticism; Greek tragedy and its appropriations; multilingual performance.

For further details on the network, see www.europeantheatre.org.uk

Recent events presented in association with the ETRN include the 2019 Gordon Craig Lecture delivered by designer Johannes Schütz and the ‘Performing Multilingualism for Monolingual Audiences: Creative Strategies and Practices in Contemporary European Theatre’ project sponsored by the AHRC and Creative Multilingualism led by Dr. Margherita Laera of the University of Kent and Professor Peter Boenisch (Central and Aarhus).

Creative Multilingualism

A short documentary film of the AHRC Creative Multilingualism project ‘Performing Multilingualism for Monolingual Audiences’ has now been released. The project was undertaken within the framework of the European Theatre Research Network (ETRN), by Principal Investigator Dr Margherita Laera, Senior Lecturer in Drama at the University of Kent, and Co-Investigator Professor Peter Boenisch of Aarhus University and The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London.

‘Performing Multilingualism for Monolingual Audiences’ investigated creative strategies and performative processes at work in multilingual theatre for audiences in predominantly monolingual cultures, such as the UK. The aim was to chart, share, and disseminate practices of current multilingual work in European theatre which would take into account that spectators cannot be expected to know all the languages on stage.

The project consisted of a conference at the University of Kent with the participation of Gintersdorfer / Klassen and Maxim-Gorki-Theater, Berlin, and two workshops at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. Students from the University of Kent, RCSSD, Freie Universität Berlin and Paris Conservatoire participated in workshops with Greek director Anestis Azas of the Greek National Theatre, and French director Anne Bérélowitch of Instant Mix.

University of Kent alumna Georgiana Barcan, now based at the Piet Zwart Institute/University of Rotterdam (NL), shot and edited the documentary which is available to view on YouTube.

Main image: “Lam Gods / The Ghent Altarpiece” by Milo Rau and ensemble, NT Gent 2018, © Michiel Devijver