Department of Drama, Theatre & Dance - Royal Holloway

Our very own Dr David Bullen is on a new podcast talking about his academic and theatre journey with Greek tragedy - it’s lovely to hear us getting a mention! 🥰 If you want to come play with Greek tragedy, learn from Katie Mitchell, and all our leading experts, check out our degrees! With clearing coming up, you might be able to snag a place yet!

We’re so excited to see our talented alumni Azan Ahmed and Eleanor Kettleton writing and directing new versions of Greek myths in Richmond’s bold new Centre stage festival. Fantastic to see Royal Holloway’s creative community contributing to a bold new vision for Richmond’s town centre and such great choices - Icarus and Orpheus in sites around Richmond. Free to attend - get over to Richmond for what will be beautfil,
Immersing afternoon of inspiration and creativity!

Very exciting that our colleague Carmen Nasr‘s adaptation is now on at the Almeida Theatre!

Sincere thanks to the extraordinary, courageous and committed artists of Ashtar Theatre who joined us online from Palestine for a powerful and inspiring post-show discussion after yesterday’s screening of Guernica, Gaza.

Join us ONLINE OR IN PERSON at Caryl Churchill Theatre (Egham), for a two-part event and fundraiser on Wednesday 17 June 2026:

3.30-5.00pm BST: screening of Guernica, Gaza: Visions from the Center of the Earth (2024), a theatre production written by Naomi Wallace and Ismail Khalidi, directed by Emile Saba and performed by ASHTAR Theatre.*

5.15-6.30pm BST: panel discussion with ASHTAR artists + researchers engaged in work on Palestinian theatre & performance (speakers TBC)

*Film version is performed in Arabic with English subtitles: Arabic translation by Alice S. Yousef.

Presented by the Theatre and Performance Research Association (TaPRA, UK) and Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL), in collaboration with ASHTAR Theatre (Ramallah, Palestine).

A fascinating article by our department’s Liz Schafer! This article is part of ‘Rethinking the Classics’, a series offering insightful new ways to think about and interpret classic books and artworks.

You can read the full article here: https://theconversation.com/mamma-mia-is-shakespeares-tempest-in-campy-musical-disguise-283513

A fabulous day at the National Maritime Museum today - our students working alongside professionals from to deliver fantastic workshops using puppetry to get the public engaged in seabird conservation. Over 420 participants across the day…happy world ocean day, all, see you there next year 🌊

Last night we had the huge pleasure of welcoming prolific stage and screen actor Christopher Eccleston to Royal Holloway! Chatting to Professor Dan Rebellato, Christopher talked about his recent Radio 4 documentary on the crisis in drama education and on what that education meant for him personally. It was a frank and funny conversation, with some great questions from a packed house in the Caryl Churchill Theatre. Watch this space for more events like this, coming soon!

An exciting opportunity from one of the third-year Media Arts students! Casting call for “Curl Talk”, a character- driven, comedy drama pilot set in a London hair salon. Curl Talk is rooted in Black British culture and lived experience, and we are particularly keen to reach actors who connect with this world, though all are welcome to apply.
Filming takes place from w/c 26 May. Please see Casting details attached or contact [email protected] for further details.

Today we were thrilled to host a conversation between Phyllida Lloyd and Katie Mitchell, two megastar directors who answered some great questions from over fifty visiting sixth formers and some of our current students, from undergrad through to PhD. They talked about the unique contribution theatre can make in the world, how to get into the industry, and what needs to be done to better support drama in schools. Then we had the launch of a new book, the first full-length study of Phyllida’s practice, written by our staff members Elizabeth Schafer and David Bullen. A great day 🌟