Performance in the Field

This book makes a compelling case for ‘performance fieldwork’ as a vital new approach to interdisciplinary collaboration. Refocussing the histories and practices of field research, it shows how creative methods and artistic processes can contribute to an embodied and situated knowledge of complex landscapes and environments. The book brings together case studies of innovative research in the fields of ecology, clubbing, heritage, mobility and deep time, which took place in the United Kingdom between 2009 and 2021. These accessible and engaging field notes connect to international and intercultural contexts, with attention to alternative experiences and perspectives throughout. Together, they provide a critically informed ‘toolbox’ of playful and exploratory strategies for working with a diverse range of urban and rural sites – including a river, a museum, a nightclub, a motorway and a cave. This is a timely methodology that reaches across disciplines to demonstrate how performance continually plays out ‘in the field’.

David Overend is an award-winning theatre director and Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Edinburgh, UK. His research focuses on contemporary theatre and performance, often at the intersection with cultural geography. Previous publications include Making Routes: Journeys in Performance 2010-2020 with Laura Bissell (2021), and an edited collection, Rob Drummond Plays with Participation (2021). David has also written numerous articles for journals including Contemporary Theatre Review, New Theatre Quarterly and GeoHumanities. As well as over a decade of site-based performance practice, he has directed for many theatres, including the National Theatre of Great Britain.