Theatre and performance studies

The department’s research into theatre and performance studies examines the ways in which theatre performances, theatre scripts, stage visuality, performance art and various other related elements both reflect and shape their contemporary world in very specific ways. In particular, our research into theatre and performance deals with the link between social and cultural relations, between people’s actions and statements, and the times in which they take place.

We investigate various aspects of the specific kinds of cultural statements that theatre and performance represent. 

We study theatre as an art form and social phenomenon, and apply a broad concept of theatre ranging over the traditional performing arts to avant-garde and cross-over forms, for example ones blending theatre and music. We encounter these types of art in a globalised world, blending high culture with popular and commercial cultural forms. We examine works, events and processes as well as their cultural and social conditions, both historical and contemporary. 
The research into forms of theatrical expression also gives rise to a number of theoretical and analytical approaches which can be applied to other cultural phenomena. This is particularly the case in performance studies, where we examine theatrical and performative elements in other contexts than the purely theatrical, inspired by theories from other disciplines, such as anthropology and cultural theory. This allows us to say something about, for example, the staging of political manoeuvring and the dramaturgy of everyday life.