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Dr Martin Young

Positions held:
  • Lecturer, School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
  • Research

    Research

    Research interests

    • Political Economy
    • Theatre and the State
    • Stage Lighting
    • Theatre History and Historiography

    Research overview

    I am a founding member of the Performance and Political Economy Research Collective, a cross-institutional group of scholars working to advance a materialist analysis of both the political economy of the theatre and performance sector and the role of performance and theatrical logics in the wider world of work, production, and commerce. The group's activity has taken the form of regular reading groups, organised study days and research presentations, a symposium, and collaboratively written publications. https://pperesearch.com/

    My own publications have focused primarily on questions of labour in the theatre industry, and in particular in the backstage work of stage management and technical theatre. This work is generally based in historical archives and considers the relationship between labour and theatre's organisational systems, industrial character, and technological advances. I am currently developing a monograph historicising the commodification of theatrical performance.

    My most recent work has turned to the theme of the policing and the state, including editing a forthcoming special issue of Performance Research titled 'On State Violence'.

  • Supervision and teaching

    Supervision and teaching

    Teaching

    Teaching modules

    • Contemporary Performance Cultures: Ideas and Approaches (AREN022S7)
    • Arts for Social Change (AREN198S5)
    • Collaborative Theatre Making (AREN277S7)
    • Theatremaking (AREN290Z4)
    • Performing Environments (AREN291S6)
    • Dramaturgy: Processes and Practices (AREN298S7)
    • Theatre in London Now: Student Led Project: level 6, 30 credits (ENHU001S6)
    • Independent Research Project in Theatre and Performance (ENHU103S6)