Digital Transformation in UK Performing Arts Createch Frontiers Collaborative Doctoral Award

About the Project

The College of Arts and Law invites applications to two Collaborative Doctoral Awards commencing in the 2026/7 academic year. These four-year, full-time studentships, co-hosted between the University of Birmingham and a Creative Sector project partner, are funded by UKRI via CreaTech Frontiers.

Research Project

Digital transformation in the UK’s performing arts sector has created both opportunities and challenges. The advent of National Theatre Live in 2009 brought newly enhanced, worldwide attention to UK theatre-making, but the cost of high-quality theatre broadcasting has meant that it is mostly large, highly funded institutions that have benefited from this innovation (Sullivan 2025, 2017). At the same time, the growth of theatre broadcasting and event cinema has in some cases constricted the availability of regional venues for smaller, touring companies, which must compete for space and attention with national broadcasting programmes (Freestone 2014). How can these companies survive and thrive in this changing arts landscape? Can more affordable, grassroots approaches to digital streaming help them reach new audiences? And can these distribution methods help invigorate aspects of their creative practice?

This project takes the work of Stan’s Cafe as its central case study, exploring how this world-renowned, experimental theatre company is evolving in relation to these changing contexts. Stan’s Cafe has long explored how audiovisual and intermedial art-making can intersect with live, embodied performance: its 24 Hour Scalextric (2009) was performed in-person and via audio-stream, while its durational show, Tuning Out With Radio Z (2010), invited audiences to contribute to the performance online. It has also adapted projects for online engagement (Anatomy of Melancholy for YouTube in 2020) and experimented with remediating short videos of previous work through social media channels.

Until recently, however, Stan’s Cafe has not devised work with digital as a first priority. This is about to change as the company embarks on a series of new digital ventures that will help it transition to a hybrid/online space, which it sees as key to its future artistic and financial strategy. From autumn 2026, the company will develop three projects with major digital components: Around the World, a one-person show inspired by Around the World in Eighty Days and performed on the gaming/streaming platform Twitch; Landing In, a hybrid project about the global burden placed on Gen Z/Alpha using the video game Microsoft Flight Simulator; and J-Detectives, a wry take on episodic crime drama that will mix in-person and online performance.

The proposed PhD/CDA will document, inform, and evaluate the success of Stan Cafe’s move into the digital-first realm, analyzing its emerging digital portfolio in terms of artistic innovation, audience reach, and financial sustainability. By situating Stan Cafe’s work within a wider performing arts context, both in terms of artistic approach (similar companies including Forced Entertainment, The Wooster Group) and regional context (neighboring organizations including Birmingham Rep, Motionhouse), the researcher will outline existing models of digital distribution and make proposals as to how Stan’s Cafe might adapt them to suit its size, location, and artistic ambitions. They will also consider how digital methods might address ongoing issues of access and identity for queer, disabled, and racialized practitioners. As Stan’s Cafe’s digital projects reach completion, the researcher will develop recommendations for other small-to-medium performing arts organizations grappling with similar issues related to digital change.

The methodology will involve a combination of theoretical and historical analysis, archival study (the researcher will have full and exclusive access to Stan’s Cafe’s back catalogue of audiovisual assets), and practice-oriented fieldwork. They will make use of the Birmingham Transformative Humanities Lab’s cutting-edge resources in video, XR, and VR as required by the project. Monthly supervisions will involve the full supervision team, keeping theory and practice in constant dialogue. Cross-sector collaboration is central to this project, which will see the researcher embedded in the working life of Stan’s Cafe while also contributing to academic understanding of the value and viability of live performing arts in a digital landscape

The project may take the shape of a traditional written PhD or a practice-based PhD, depending on the candidate’s expertise and interests. Applicants should specify in their proposal which route they are proposing and why.

Project Partner: Stan's Cafe Theatre

Stan’s Cafe is a theatre company admired internationally for its ground-breaking productions that challenge the relationship between theatre’s form and content. Established in 1991 and based in Birmingham, the company has presented work at the National Theatre, Barbican, Royal Shakespeare Company, and Institute for Contemporary Art as well as venues around the world.

Who Can Apply?

• These studentships are open to Home and International students for full-time, campus-based doctoral research commencing study at the start of the 2026/27 academic year.
• Applicants must meet all requirements for doctoral study at the University of Birmingham, including, where relevant, English language proficiency.
• Candidates should have, or be completing, a master’s degree in a relevant subject.
• Experience of working with industry partners, or the demonstrable potential to do so successfully, would be an advantage.
• The studentships will be awarded to outstanding candidates who demonstrate the potential to make a scholarly impact aligned with both the CreaTech Frontiers project and the College of Arts and Law’s strategic research priorities.

How to Apply

Please submit your application via email to calscholarshipprizes@contacts.bham.ac.uk. It should include:

• A CV (max 2 pages). This must cover your academic record (including degree classifications), relevant work experience, and any other information that indicates your preparedness and suitability for collaborative doctoral study;
• A Research Proposal (max 3 pages) that explains how you would respond to the relevant project
• The names, affiliations and email addresses of two referees. Please ensure that you have contacted your referees in advance, and that they are willing to supply references on request.

Following shortlisting and interview, the successful candidate will need to apply for, and be offered, a place on the relevant programme of doctoral study at the University of Birmingham. You do not need to apply to a programme of study in advance.

The deadline for receipt of applications is midday UK time on 27 May 2026.

Funding Notes

Each studentship includes a stipend at the UKRI rate (£21,805) and a tuition fee waiver.

Please submit your application via email to calscholarshipprizes@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

Following shortlisting and interview, the successful candidate will need to apply for, and be offered, a place on the relevant programme of doctoral study at the University of Birmingham. You do not need to apply to a programme of study in advance.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 12:00 midday UK time on 27 May 2026.