Research
Over three and a half years, the Performance, Learning and Heritage (PLH) project set out to develop a strategy for recording and examining various 'performance' styles within museum and heritage settings, whilst documenting and mapping current practice within this diverse and contested field. This research follows from and builds upon an earlier project, funded by the AHRC and carried out under the direction of Tony Jackson, which investigated the use of performance at two museums for organised school groups. The research findings pointed to some significant features of performance as a learning tool and highlighted the need for a more in-depth exploration of the use of performance both at museums and at heritage sites, and for independent visitors as well as school groups.
The full report, "Seeing it for Real: an investigation into the effectiveness of theatre and theatre techniques in museums", can be found: here (please note large download)
The PLH study thus involved a wider sample in terms of the number and type of sites, and the number and type of visitors, and was able to investigate the extent of recall and of the learning (if any) over a much longer term. Among the tasks we set ourselves, we have:
- mapped the extent, style and functions of performance as a learning medium in museums and historic sites throughout the UK and abroad (an ongoing enterprise)
- observed, documented and analysed a variety of performance styles in relation to their site-specific contexts, from 'first person' interpretation to complete dramatic performances
- encompassed the experience of, and response to, performance of independent adult visitors and families as well as organised educational groups
- conducted longitudinal audience/visitor research to gauge effectiveness and impact over the longer term
- initiated - and developed methods of assessing - innovative practice: in collaboration with Manchester Museum, we commissioned in Year 2 a new professional performance piece to test and build on research findings as they began to emerge ( This Accursed Thing ), and
- facilitated the wider exchange of ideas and practice in Museum Theatre between scholars and practitioners through a dedicated website, a series of seminars and an international conference.
In recent years education and social inclusion have become increasingly important to museum and heritage agendas, and many site directors now see their galleries as sites for experiment, debate, and as bases from which to reach out into the community. Just as wider debates take place about 'nationality', 'citizenship' and 'heritage' (including whose heritage?), the very purpose of the museum has been and continues to be interrogated. Drama has been seen by a number of sites as a way of stimulating those debates, its fictionality highlighting the constructedness of many of the narratives the museums tell through their exhibits.
» Select the links on the left hand side to explore the research context, questions and further information. «
