Dr Simon Murray

  • Honorary Senior Research Fellow (School of Culture & Creative Arts)

email: Simon.Murray@glasgow.ac.uk

TFTV Studies, Gilmorehill Halls, Glasgow G12 8QQ

Import to contacts

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0221-3774

Biography

On retirement as Senior Lecturer in Theatre Studies on 1st October 2023 I was awarded the role of Honorary Senior Research Fellow. I joined Theatre Studies at the University of Glasgow in September 2008 having moved from Dartington College of Arts in Devon where I was Director of Theatre. I graduated from Newcastle Polytechnic with a (London University) Honours degree in Sociology in 1971 and spent 15 years working in further, higher, adult and trade union education in the north east of England, the west of Scotland and in Seychelles. In my late thirties I spent a year (1986-87) in Paris training in movement, acting and theatre-making with Philippe Gaulier and Monika Pagneux. After 12 years as a professional theatre maker and performer I returned to higher education to teach theatre and performance. In 2008 I co- founded the Routledge journal, Theatre, Dance and Performance Training with Professor Jonathan Pitches (University of Leeds). I was co-editor of this journal until the autumn of 2016 but remain a consultant editor. My daughter, Isla, has recently graduated with a 1st class Honours degree in Sociology from the University of Edinburgh, and I am married to Glasgow based artist and filmmaker, Wendy Kirkup. We have a much-adored Labrador called Tally. I take great pleasure in exploring and walking the landscapes of North Cornwall, Northumberland, the Lake Disrict and the Coigach region of North West Scotland. I am a Hellenist and enjoy spending as much of my time as possible in Athens, the Mani peninsular of the Peloponnese and on the island of Zakynthos. Retirement notwithstanding, I am still open to short-term consultancies, lecture-presentations and PhD examining roles.

Research interests

My research interests remain interdisciplinary and constantly engage with a sociological and cultural studies past and a theatre/performance practices present. A preoccupation with political and social contexts frames and drives all my interests, regardless of the particular nature of the project in question. My research and writing have attempted to combine close readings of theatre forms – particularly physical and movement theatres - and locating these practices as cultural production. Over the last 20 years my research interests have coalesced around two inter-related and overlapping pathways of thought and interest. One of these continues to include physical theatres and the politics and regimes of actor and performer training, the pedagogies of Jacques Lecoq and Philippe Gaulier and contemporary performance practices and dramaturgies. The other embraces a wider cultural sweep and finds focus on WG (Max) Sebald, John Berger, Raymond Williams, the quality of lightness in performance, the politics of collaboration, progressive modes of education and the relationship between ruins/ruination and theatre. In relation to the latter, I completed a five-year research project which concluded in a monograph entitled Performing Ruins, published by Palgrave in August 2020. This was a title within the Performing Landscapes series edited by Professor Dee Heddon (James Arnott Chair in Drama, Glasgow) and Sally Mackay (Professor Emerita at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama). I remain a member of both the Dramaturgy as Critical Practice and the Performance, Ecology and Heritage research hubs within Theatre Studies at the University of Glasgow. In May 2023 I published Mime into Physical Theatre: a UK Cultural History 1970 – 2000 (Routledge), jointly authored with Professor Mark Evans of Coventry University. In retirement I anticipate experimenting with different registers of writing and undertaking selected essays and articles.

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2023 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2013 | 2011 | 2010 | 2007 | 2003 | 2002
Number of items: 25.

2023

Evans, M. and Murray, S. (2023) Mime into Physical Theatre: A UK Cultural History 1970–2000. Routledge. ISBN 9780367352493 (doi: 10.4324/9780429330209)

2021

Murray, S. and Kirkup, W. (2021) Revisiting THEN/NOW. In: Donald, M. (ed.) THEN/NOW: A public art project with and for the Forth and Clyde Canal. University of Glasgow: Glasgow. ISBN 9780852619735

2020

Murray, S. and Evans, M. (2020) PLAY, COMPLICITÉ, DISPONIBILITÉ: a dialogue between Mark Evans (ME) and Simon Murray (SM) at the National Theatre in London, November 2018. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 11(4), pp. 515-518. (doi: 10.1080/19443927.2020.1824857)

Murray, S. (2020) Performing Ruins. Series: Performing landscapes. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke. ISBN 9783030406424

2019

Lavery, C. and Murray, S. (2019) Thinking like a ruin. In: Mitsi, E., Despotopoulou, A., Dimakopoulou, S. and Aretoulakis, E. (eds.) Ruins in the Literary and Cultural Imagination. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 249-270. ISBN 9783030269043 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-26905-0_15)

Murray, S. , Hall, J. and Kirkup, W. (2019) After into the mountain. [Website]

Murray, S. (2019) Performing the Ruin: Some Questions of Materiality and Dramaturgy. UHI Ruination and Decay Conference, Inverness, UK, December 2019.

2018

Murray, S. , Worth, L., Brown, B. and McCaw, D. (2018) Editorial. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 9(3), pp. 299-306. (doi: 10.1080/19443927.2018.1505021)

2017

Murray, S. (2017) A conspiracy of orphans: John Berger and the art of creative attention. Contemporary Theatre Review, 27(3), pp. 429-432. (doi: 10.1080/10486801.2017.1372962)

2016

Murray, S. (2016) Contemporary collaborations and cautionary tales. In: Colin, N. and Sachsenmaier, S. (eds.) Collaboration in Performance Practice: Premises, Workings, Failures. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke, pp. 27-50. ISBN 9781137462459 (doi: 10.1057/9781137462466_2)

Murray, S. (2016) Connoisseurs of Twilight: Wrestling with Writing Ruins. Theatre Studies Research Seminar, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK, 17 March 2016.

Murray, S. (2016) Dear Jacques ... Lecoq in the twenty first century. In: Evans, M. and Kemp, R. (eds.) Routledge Companion to Jacques Lecoq. Routledge: Abingdon, pp. 292-300. ISBN 9781138818422

Murray, S. and Keefe, J. (2016) Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction [2nd ed.]. Routledge: Abingdon. ISBN 9781138782112

2015

Murray, S. (2015) Keywords in performer training. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 6(1), pp. 46-58. (doi: 10.1080/19443927.2014.995829)

Murray, S. (2015) Flirting with Ruin Porn: Some Initial Thoughts on Ruination as a 'Structure Of Feeling'. Glasgow School of Art & NVA On Ruins and Ruination, Glasgow, UK, 18 Sep 2015.

Murray, S. and Lorimer, H. (2015) The ruin in question. Performance Research, 20(3), pp. 58-66. (doi: 10.1080/13528165.2015.1049037)

2013

Murray, S. (2013) Fields of association: W.G. Sebald and contemporary performance practices. In: Baxter, J., Hutchinson, B. and Henitiuk, V. (eds.) A Literature of Restitution: Critical Essays on W.G. Sebald. Manchester University Press: Manchester, UK, pp. 187-202. ISBN 9780719088520

Murray, S. (2013) Embracing lightness: dispositions,corporealities and metaphors in contemporary theatre and performance. Contemporary Theatre Review, 23(2), pp. 206-219. (doi: 10.1080/10486801.2013.777051)

2011

Murray, S. and Hall, J. (2011) Arts for what, for where, for whom? Fragmentary reflections on Dartington College of Arts, 1961 – 2010. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 2(1), (doi: 10.1080/19443927.2010.544752)

Murray, S. , Pitches, J., Poynor, H., Worth, H., Richmond, D. and Dorey Richmond, J. (2011) Performer training: researching practice in the theatre laboratory. In: Kershaw, B. and Nicholson, H. (eds.) Research Methods in Theatre and Performance. Series: Research methods for the arts and humanities. Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, UK, pp. 137-161. ISBN 9780748641574

2010

Murray, S.D. (2010) Jacques Lecoq, Monika Pagneux and Philippe Gaulier: training for play, lightness and disobedience. In: Hodge, A. (ed.) Actor Training. Routledge: London, UK, pp. 215-236. ISBN 9780415471688

2007

Keefe, J. and Murray, S.D. (Eds.) (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader. Routledge: London, UK. ISBN 9780415362511

Murray, S.D. and Keefe, J. (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction. Routledge: London, UK. ISBN 9780415362498

2003

Murray, S.D. (2003) Jacques Lecoq. Series: Routledge performance practitioners. Routledge: London, UK. ISBN 9780415258814

2002

Murray, S.D. (2002) Tout bouge: Jacques Lecoq, modern mime and the zero body: a pedagogy for the creative actor. In: Yarrow, R. and Chamberlain, F. (eds.) Jacques Lecoq and the British Theatre. Series: Routledge Harwood contemporary theatre studies (42). Routledge: London, UK. ISBN 9780415270243

This list was generated on Sat Oct 12 16:56:09 2024 BST.
Number of items: 25.

Articles

Murray, S. and Evans, M. (2020) PLAY, COMPLICITÉ, DISPONIBILITÉ: a dialogue between Mark Evans (ME) and Simon Murray (SM) at the National Theatre in London, November 2018. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 11(4), pp. 515-518. (doi: 10.1080/19443927.2020.1824857)

Murray, S. , Worth, L., Brown, B. and McCaw, D. (2018) Editorial. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 9(3), pp. 299-306. (doi: 10.1080/19443927.2018.1505021)

Murray, S. (2017) A conspiracy of orphans: John Berger and the art of creative attention. Contemporary Theatre Review, 27(3), pp. 429-432. (doi: 10.1080/10486801.2017.1372962)

Murray, S. (2015) Keywords in performer training. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 6(1), pp. 46-58. (doi: 10.1080/19443927.2014.995829)

Murray, S. and Lorimer, H. (2015) The ruin in question. Performance Research, 20(3), pp. 58-66. (doi: 10.1080/13528165.2015.1049037)

Murray, S. (2013) Embracing lightness: dispositions,corporealities and metaphors in contemporary theatre and performance. Contemporary Theatre Review, 23(2), pp. 206-219. (doi: 10.1080/10486801.2013.777051)

Murray, S. and Hall, J. (2011) Arts for what, for where, for whom? Fragmentary reflections on Dartington College of Arts, 1961 – 2010. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, 2(1), (doi: 10.1080/19443927.2010.544752)

Books

Evans, M. and Murray, S. (2023) Mime into Physical Theatre: A UK Cultural History 1970–2000. Routledge. ISBN 9780367352493 (doi: 10.4324/9780429330209)

Murray, S. (2020) Performing Ruins. Series: Performing landscapes. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke. ISBN 9783030406424

Murray, S. and Keefe, J. (2016) Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction [2nd ed.]. Routledge: Abingdon. ISBN 9781138782112

Murray, S.D. and Keefe, J. (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Introduction. Routledge: London, UK. ISBN 9780415362498

Murray, S.D. (2003) Jacques Lecoq. Series: Routledge performance practitioners. Routledge: London, UK. ISBN 9780415258814

Book Sections

Murray, S. and Kirkup, W. (2021) Revisiting THEN/NOW. In: Donald, M. (ed.) THEN/NOW: A public art project with and for the Forth and Clyde Canal. University of Glasgow: Glasgow. ISBN 9780852619735

Lavery, C. and Murray, S. (2019) Thinking like a ruin. In: Mitsi, E., Despotopoulou, A., Dimakopoulou, S. and Aretoulakis, E. (eds.) Ruins in the Literary and Cultural Imagination. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 249-270. ISBN 9783030269043 (doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-26905-0_15)

Murray, S. (2016) Contemporary collaborations and cautionary tales. In: Colin, N. and Sachsenmaier, S. (eds.) Collaboration in Performance Practice: Premises, Workings, Failures. Palgrave Macmillan: Basingstoke, pp. 27-50. ISBN 9781137462459 (doi: 10.1057/9781137462466_2)

Murray, S. (2016) Dear Jacques ... Lecoq in the twenty first century. In: Evans, M. and Kemp, R. (eds.) Routledge Companion to Jacques Lecoq. Routledge: Abingdon, pp. 292-300. ISBN 9781138818422

Murray, S. (2013) Fields of association: W.G. Sebald and contemporary performance practices. In: Baxter, J., Hutchinson, B. and Henitiuk, V. (eds.) A Literature of Restitution: Critical Essays on W.G. Sebald. Manchester University Press: Manchester, UK, pp. 187-202. ISBN 9780719088520

Murray, S. , Pitches, J., Poynor, H., Worth, H., Richmond, D. and Dorey Richmond, J. (2011) Performer training: researching practice in the theatre laboratory. In: Kershaw, B. and Nicholson, H. (eds.) Research Methods in Theatre and Performance. Series: Research methods for the arts and humanities. Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, UK, pp. 137-161. ISBN 9780748641574

Murray, S.D. (2010) Jacques Lecoq, Monika Pagneux and Philippe Gaulier: training for play, lightness and disobedience. In: Hodge, A. (ed.) Actor Training. Routledge: London, UK, pp. 215-236. ISBN 9780415471688

Murray, S.D. (2002) Tout bouge: Jacques Lecoq, modern mime and the zero body: a pedagogy for the creative actor. In: Yarrow, R. and Chamberlain, F. (eds.) Jacques Lecoq and the British Theatre. Series: Routledge Harwood contemporary theatre studies (42). Routledge: London, UK. ISBN 9780415270243

Edited Books

Keefe, J. and Murray, S.D. (Eds.) (2007) Physical Theatres: A Critical Reader. Routledge: London, UK. ISBN 9780415362511

Conference or Workshop Item

Murray, S. (2019) Performing the Ruin: Some Questions of Materiality and Dramaturgy. UHI Ruination and Decay Conference, Inverness, UK, December 2019.

Murray, S. (2016) Connoisseurs of Twilight: Wrestling with Writing Ruins. Theatre Studies Research Seminar, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK, 17 March 2016.

Murray, S. (2015) Flirting with Ruin Porn: Some Initial Thoughts on Ruination as a 'Structure Of Feeling'. Glasgow School of Art & NVA On Ruins and Ruination, Glasgow, UK, 18 Sep 2015.

Website

Murray, S. , Hall, J. and Kirkup, W. (2019) After into the mountain. [Website]

This list was generated on Sat Oct 12 16:56:09 2024 BST.

Supervision

Since retiring I am no longer taking on any new PhD supervisions but am continuing supervision of my doctoral students until their completion.

Examples of recent successful PhD supervisions:

  • Elucidating the compositional praxis of a living composer, Thea Musgrave, through archival papers. (Collaborative Doctoral Award with British Library London. With Music, 2018)
  • ‘In Dance It’s Accepted’: Undoing Gender, Challenging Heterosexual Hegemony and the Limits of Transgression (with Sociology, 2015)
  • Crossing the Clyde to the Riverside: Developing co-creational strategies for engaging local publics with and within the Riverside Museum – A practice-led approach. (Collaborative Doctoral Award with Riverside Museum, Glasgow, 2015)
  • ‘The work of a clown is to make the audience burst out laughing’. Learning Clown at École Philippe Gaulier (2014).

Teaching

Since retiring I no longer undertake regular teaching but will contribute at least two lectures or workshops in each academic year.

Before retirement my main teaching commitments included the following:

Beckett in Performance (Undergraduate honours option)
Performing Memory (Undergraduate honours option)
Contemporary Devising Practices (MLitt Theatre and Performance Practices)
Practice as Research Project (MLitt Theatre and Performance Practices)
Dissertations (Undergraduate and taught postgraduate)
Contemporary devised theatre and performance practices (Undergraduate and taught postgraduate)
PhD supervisions