Professor Helen Nicholson

I came to Royal Holloway in 2000 from the University of Cambridge Faculty of Education, where I lectured in drama on the BA and PGCE courses. My research is now focused on contemporary theatre and applied drama, which means that I have worked in many different and sometimes rather unglamorous places – in schools, in care homes for the elderly, in day centres for people with head injuries, in prisons, in hostels for the homeless, in orphanages in Africa. My recent research into theatre education raises fundamental questions, relevant to all forms of theatre, about how far innovative theatre and performance practices are compatible with learning, public engagement and civic participation. It investigated the performative pedagogies of theatre-makers who work in the current political climate in which the arts are charged with healing social division, and where the creative industries are a major source of employment and urban regeneration. This research builds on my theoretical interests in the embodiment of place and space developed through dialogue with cultural geographers. My book, Theatre, Education and Performance: The Map and the Story was awarded the Distinguished Book Award by the American Alliance for Theatre and Education in 2012. 

My practice as research project 'Performing Citizenship: Investigating Place'  led me to work with people whose lives have been affected by major international events. This has  taken me to different locations, including the Hiroshima district of Japan, the Cape Flat Townships, South Africa and, more locally, I have worked with Islamic young people who have been politicised through 7/7. 

My research into community performance, citizenship and place has led to an interest in amateur dramatics, and particularly how amateur theatre in non-metropolitan spaces might be recognised and understood.

I am now leading a research project on arts practices in residential care homes for older adults, many of whom are living with dementia. I am interested in the contribution made by artists to the emotional geographies of older adults, and what 'home' means to those living in residential care. This research extends to the dramatic representation of ageing and public engagement in theatre that questions assumptions about old age. 

I am co-editor of the leading international journal in applied theatre and drama education, RiDE: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, published by Routledge (www.informaworld.com/crde), and serve on the international board ofthe journal The Applied Theatre Research.

I continue to enjoy teaching at all levels, and I have introduced many new courses into the undergraduate curriculum that are associated with my research interests. These include courses in theatre for young audiences, theatre education, performance of memory, contemporary theatre-making and devised theatre. Many of these courses involve placements in different settings. I introduced applied theatre to the MA in Theatre, a course which has contributed to the careers of many successful practitioners and theatre educators.

My recent PhD students have researched different aspects of applied theatre and contemporary perforamnce. I welcome inquires from potential PhD students in my research areas.