Mr Gavin Thatcher
Senior Lecturer in Theatre

Summary

I am an academic, pedagogue, theatre maker and UEFA qualified football coach. Having developed a portfolio career as a practitioner-scholar, my work operates dynamically across the generative boundaries of teaching, research, and artistic practice. As a teacher, I have over 10 years experience working in the UK Higher Education sector, during which time I have cultivated a practice of reflexive, collaborative pedagogy that destabilises hierarchical approaches to teaching and learning. I have taught across a range of practical and theoretical modules at universities and conservatoires, including Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, De Montfort University Leicester, and University of Wolverhampton. 

As a theatre maker, I was part of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre's Foundry Programme for emerging artists, where I was mentored by Alexander Zeldin, Caroline Horton and Tessa Walker. While on the Foundry Programme, I began to develop a collection of three works exploring neurological trauma and the body. The first two pieces: Grey Matter and The Prisoner's Cinema have been supported by Birmingham Repertory Theatre and MAC Birmingham. In 2017, I assisted acclaimed French theatre director, Mohamed El Khatib, working with over 50 football supporters on stage. I have also worked as a director on several professional projects across theatre, opera, performance art, and musical theatre. 

As an academic, I am interested in how we understand, study, and use rehearsal in sport and performance training. I have published on different modes of performance training, critical conceptualisations of voice, and the complicated dynamics of leadership within ensemble practices. I am also interested in exploring the political dynamics of collective creativity beyond the rehearsal studio, addressing other settings including sports performance, healthcare, and emergency response planning. I am currently working on the development of an edited book on performance and football.