Live Performance Matters
Research Centre, Drama
Live Performance Matters
Research Centre, Drama
What can a performing body do in the face of oppression? And how can performance become a site of resistance, pleasure and political possibility?
These questions shaped ‘Politics of the Performing Body: Insurgence, Pleasure, Labour’, a conversation hosted by Live Performance Matters on 19 October 2026 between cultural theorist Dr Brahma Prakash (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi) and Dr Aparna Mahiyaria (University of Exeter).
Drawing primarily on Prakash’s Cultural Labour: Conceptualizing the ‘Folk Performance’ in India, the discussion explored the performing body as a site of cultural memory, oppression, resistance, labour and pleasure. It also connected these themes to Prakash’s more recent book, Body on the Barricades, and ongoing protests in India, considering the continuing entanglement of performance, embodied experience and political struggle.
Our launch event for Live Performance Matters took place on 11 June 2026. Nine contributors (Aparna Mahiyaria, Rebecca Loukes, Evelyn O’Malley, Heike Roms, Pam Woods, Priya Venkat Raman, Adrian Curtin, Giorgia Ciampi, and Cathy Turner) offered short responses in different formats to the question ‘(Why) does live performance matter now?’. Musicians Emma Welton and Roz Harding offered improvised musical responses during the drinks reception. (Photos: Konstantinos Thomaidis)
Live Performance Matters is a new research centre in Drama, within the Department of Communications, Drama and Film at the University of Exeter. The centre platforms research into live performance across art forms, geographies, and histories.
Our launch event will fizz with ideas and celebration. Drama staff and affiliated researchers will offer a series of short responses in different formats to the question: ‘(Why) does live performance matter now?’, sparking conversation about the current value of live performance and the importance of research into it. The spirit of live performance will animate the occasion, with improvised contributions from musicians Emma Welton and Roz Harding. All are welcome.
