This is a unique opportunity for in-depth, research-led study of the work, contexts and consequences of contemporary British and Irish popular playwrights. You will be participating in the UK’s only postgraduate course in the field of contemporary popular theatre. If you have an interest in the plays of established writers such as John Godber, Willy Russell or Jim Cartwright or the emerging work of Richard Bean, Amanda Whittington or Roy Williams then this course will provide a suitably rigorous academic framework for further study. The course builds on established undergraduate provision in Popular and Mainstream Theatre at Liverpool Hope University and staff research expertise. You will follow a rigorous, balanced programme of study providing opportunities for academic and practical analysis of the field of contemporary popular theatre. Your study will be based at the Creative Campus near Liverpool city centre and will make effective use of the proximity of the Everyman Archive and the Royal Court popular theatre season. The Artistic Director of the Hull Truck Theatre, John Godber, is currently Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre at the university and has strong links with the university; Godber’s SOLD (2007) played a sell-out run on campus as part of the Cornerstone Festival. There is an explicit focus on text and building-based performance creates a useful counter-discourse to the usual academic emphasis on avant garde work at this level of study. - See more at: http://www.hope.ac.uk/postgraduate/postgraduatecourses/contemporarypopulartheatresma/title,4063,en.html#sthash.xds6HJ3E.dpuf

Effective engagement with the dissertation and associated research methodologies may be of particular use to students considering further postgraduate work in the area. Producing theatres may consider this course a useful preparation for dramaturgical work within the profession. - See more at: http://www.hope.ac.uk/postgraduate/postgraduatecourses/contemporarypopulartheatresma/title,4063,en.html#sthash.xds6HJ3E.dpuf