I went to the theatre last night, to see the first live theatre show since the pandemic began… That’s not completely true. I’m a university lecturer, and so during the pandemic I’ve seen live student work, and I’ve seen online and recorded work, and those are all still ‘shows’. But still this was different. It... Continue Reading →

(Written in haste on the morning of 27th March.) She is dancing on the roof. I am watching a stranger dance, at a distance, across the rooftops of other buildings, from the window of a house in Bristol. She is on the tiles, a strange awkward stepping dance with 90 degree turns, stepping over the... Continue Reading →

On training for Dance:     ‘I’m not interested in how people move, but what moves them’ said Pina Bausch...   I was recently asked if, in order to do a module on physical theatre a student needed to hit the gym twice a week, and I blurted out ‘yes’ as much as a genuine... Continue Reading →

Why Beckett? (Passion for your subject 1) The ‘National Student Survey’ asks students to score how passionate their staff are about the subject they teach. I think this is a little unfair; when running from class to class, exhausted, under pressure, we don’t always have the energy reserves or the time to show or talk... Continue Reading →

I imagine some people think of their memory as a straight line: They just remember back, back, and further back. Some think it is like a tapestry: Everything is connected, tied to everything else. Want to remember something? Find the thread... pull. For a long time memory was a palace to me. My mind had... Continue Reading →

How do I start - Writing?

What to do when your proposal fails...

How to approach your time at University.

Some pointers on teaching.