Academic Profile
My PhD was awarded in 2019 from Manchester University. My thesis, 'Theatre, Development and Global Partnerships,' offers a critical reflection on applied theatre collaborations that involve UK organisations and individuals in projects taking place in the global South. Through autoethnographic reflections on my own practice, as well as participant observations and semi-structured interviews, it critiques the temporalities and spatialities of applied theatre, Theatre for Development and global development and suggests new ways for performing partnerships. I am currently reworking my thesis as a monograph. If you would like to read my thesis please get in touch.
Research interests:
Applied Theatre, Theatre for Development, International Development, participatory methodologies, social change, learner-centred pedagogies, the role of the facilitator in community development and education initiatives, the ethics of partnership, knowledge exchange and the problematics of expertise in international partnerships for development, how postcolonial theory can inform more equitable development initiatives
Qualifications:
PhD Drama, undertaken at the drama department and Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester (supervised by Professor Steve Scott-Bottoms and Professor Uma Kothari) 2019
MA Theatre and Global Development (Distinction, Leeds) 2012
BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (1st, Central School of Speech and Drama) 2010
Funding awards:
- Institute for Advanced Study, University of Warwick Global Challenges Research Fund Fellowship (for research in Rwanda and Uganda 2019)
- Institute for Advanced Study, University of Warwick Award (for research in Kenya 2019)
- University of Manchester School of Arts Languages and Cultures PhD Fieldwork bursary (for PhD fieldwork in Kenya)
-University of Manchester Drama Studentship (PhD research)
-Leeds for Life (University of Leeds) funding for project undertaken in Sahrawi refugee camps, Algeria
-Santander postgraduate funding (MA Theatre and Global Development)
-Leverhulme funding for student projects in New Zealand and Malawi
Publications:
Smith, B. (2017) 'Performing partnership: the possibilities of decentring the expertise of international practitioners in international Theatre for Development partnerships' in Applied Theatre Research, Vol. 5, No. 1: pp. 37-51 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/atr.5.1.37_1
Gleeson, C., Hughes, J., Batsleer, L., Anuradha, K., Smith, B., Wallwein, L., Wilson, J., Reeve, S. and Gale, M. (2017) 'Audience Responses to The House' in Studies in Theatre and Performance, Vol. 37, No. 1: pp. 95-113 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14682761.2017.1282403
Okuto, M. and Smith, B. (2017) 'Reflecting on the Challenges of Applied Theatre in Kenya', in Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, Vol.22, No.2: pp. 292-300 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13569783.2017.1293509
Smith, A. and Smith, B. (2015) 'What's in a name? Shifts in identify, impact and deliver in a national volunteer-led programme using applied drama to learn English', in Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 524-530.
Papers presented:
Smith, B. (2017) 'Challenges for Theatre in Peacebuilding', HCRI Conference, University of Manchester 19 May 2017.
Smith, B. (2016) 'What next for the Theatre for Development actor? Suggesting some possibilities for mutual learning between the fields of applied theatre and global development', Theatre and Performance Research Association Conference, University of Bristol 5 - 7 September 2016.
Conferences organised:
with Kaya Hayon-Davies (2015) 'Africa's Last Colony: 40 years Not Forgotten - artistic reponses to Sahrawi struggles for liberation', University of Manchester.
Research interests:
Applied Theatre, Theatre for Development, International Development, participatory methodologies, social change, learner-centred pedagogies, the role of the facilitator in community development and education initiatives, the ethics of partnership, knowledge exchange and the problematics of expertise in international partnerships for development, how postcolonial theory can inform more equitable development initiatives
Qualifications:
PhD Drama, undertaken at the drama department and Global Development Institute at the University of Manchester (supervised by Professor Steve Scott-Bottoms and Professor Uma Kothari) 2019
MA Theatre and Global Development (Distinction, Leeds) 2012
BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education (1st, Central School of Speech and Drama) 2010
Funding awards:
- Institute for Advanced Study, University of Warwick Global Challenges Research Fund Fellowship (for research in Rwanda and Uganda 2019)
- Institute for Advanced Study, University of Warwick Award (for research in Kenya 2019)
- University of Manchester School of Arts Languages and Cultures PhD Fieldwork bursary (for PhD fieldwork in Kenya)
-University of Manchester Drama Studentship (PhD research)
-Leeds for Life (University of Leeds) funding for project undertaken in Sahrawi refugee camps, Algeria
-Santander postgraduate funding (MA Theatre and Global Development)
-Leverhulme funding for student projects in New Zealand and Malawi
Publications:
Smith, B. (2017) 'Performing partnership: the possibilities of decentring the expertise of international practitioners in international Theatre for Development partnerships' in Applied Theatre Research, Vol. 5, No. 1: pp. 37-51 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/atr.5.1.37_1
Gleeson, C., Hughes, J., Batsleer, L., Anuradha, K., Smith, B., Wallwein, L., Wilson, J., Reeve, S. and Gale, M. (2017) 'Audience Responses to The House' in Studies in Theatre and Performance, Vol. 37, No. 1: pp. 95-113 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14682761.2017.1282403
Okuto, M. and Smith, B. (2017) 'Reflecting on the Challenges of Applied Theatre in Kenya', in Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, Vol.22, No.2: pp. 292-300 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13569783.2017.1293509
Smith, A. and Smith, B. (2015) 'What's in a name? Shifts in identify, impact and deliver in a national volunteer-led programme using applied drama to learn English', in Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 524-530.
Papers presented:
Smith, B. (2017) 'Challenges for Theatre in Peacebuilding', HCRI Conference, University of Manchester 19 May 2017.
Smith, B. (2016) 'What next for the Theatre for Development actor? Suggesting some possibilities for mutual learning between the fields of applied theatre and global development', Theatre and Performance Research Association Conference, University of Bristol 5 - 7 September 2016.
Conferences organised:
with Kaya Hayon-Davies (2015) 'Africa's Last Colony: 40 years Not Forgotten - artistic reponses to Sahrawi struggles for liberation', University of Manchester.