Helen Newall

Prof Helen Newall is a Professor of Theatre Praxis at the University of Bolton, specializing in creative research methodologies and performance documentation. She teaches undergraduate and postgraduate modules in multimedia, site-specific performance, and practice-as-research. Her work bridges artistic disciplines, focusing on commemoration, installation art, and community engagement.

Education:

• MA Illustration, University of Hertfordshire (2014)
• PhD, Liverpool John Moores University (2002)
• MA Creative Studies, Edge Hill University (1994)
• PGCert Drama & English, Didsbury School of Education (1986)
• BA English Literature, University of Sheffield (1983)

Research Interests: Performance photography, playwrighting, site-responsive writing, digital scenography, and the intersection of memory and commemoration. Recent projects explore queer performance (e.g., The Buttcracker) and Holocaust memorialization.

Grants & Projects: Leads the Remembering What is Lost (RWL) and Scripting Location for Community Commemoration (SLCC) initiatives, focusing on digital immersion and community narratives.

Advising: Supervises PhDs in scriptwriting, experimental writing, and performance documentation. Recent completions include In Search of Duende Time Ghost and Commedia Dell’Arte and Neo-Commedia.

Labs/Teams: Member of the Research Catalyst Practice Research Group, emphasizing collaborative, practice-led inquiry.