Registration is now open for a conference set to celebrate and explore research and development, following a pioneering collaboration between the University of Birmingham and The Royal Shakespeare Company.
The two day conference, Radical Mischief: A Conference Inviting Experiment in Theatre, Thought and Politics, is set to take place on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 July 2018.
Born of the a 5-year collaboration between the University of Birmingham and the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), the Radical Mischief Conference offers an unmissable opportunity to be involved in an urgent and open conversation about what thought and theatre can do in our time at the RSC’s centre for research and development, The Other Place.
The conference will explore a new and ambitious dialogue between theatre and scholarship that has the potential to refresh the quality and impact of thought and action in both arenas. In unstable times, can such inter-disciplinary discourse reinvigorate the spirit of democracy itself?
The conference speakers will include philosopher and social theorist, Jonathan Dollimore, and Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe, Emma Rice.
Professor Ewan Fernie, Chair, Professor and Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute, and co-convenor of the Conference said:
‘Radical Mischief presents a unique opportunity to talk about the fundamental questions of our times with people across the worlds of the theatre and the academy. It really is meant to be about actually conferring, and about the things that should matter to us all.
‘A rare and unmissable opportunity, it will feature some big names, but will equally importantly present a chance to make your voice heard, to listen to others, and perhaps even to change your mind.
'We hope to generate real collective energy, to draw a line in the sand which says the future starts here.’
Erica Whyman, RSC Deputy Artistic Director said:
‘Radical Mischief will be a conference like no other. It will bring together the minds of theatre and scholarship to explore and discuss pressing questions in our world with imagination and fresh eyes.
‘We will move away from the traditional conference format, instead using provocations, open space and other conversational formats to inspire open and enquiring debate.
‘Some of the most inspiring and challenging voices in theatre-making and contemporary thought are going to come together for the conference so I am proud and excited to be welcoming them to The Other Place.’
We invite theatre-artists, academics, cultural policy makers and educators to join the conversation, to share their own thoughts and work, and to contribute to a new agenda for our new times.
For media requests or for more information, please contact Rebecca Hume, Communications Manager, University of Birmingham on 0121 414 9041 or email the press office
For out of hours media enquiries, please call: +44 (0) 7789 921 165
Royal Shakespeare Company contact Jane Ellis, Head of Communications, on +44 (0) 1789 412 668
- Click here for information on the programme and to register
- For further enquiries about the event contact
- The ‘Other Place’ collaboration is between the Royal Shakespeare Company and the University of Birmingham
- This exciting five-year collaboration is the result of the longstanding relationship between the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute. Centred on the mutual aspiration to develop the iconic studio theatre, The Other Place, as a unique hub for learning and creativity, the collaboration has already produced fascinating and innovative new research and theatre.
- The mission of this collaboration is to redefine the relationship between academic work and artistic practice, in order to stimulate daring new theatre in the spirits of both Shakespeare and Buzz Goodbody, founder of the original Other Place.
- The University of Birmingham is ranked among the world's top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 5,000 international students from over 150 countries.