Creative Communities
Making the University a powerhouse for the creative industries.
Partnering with industry on research and creative projects
We are actively involved in creative projects at the forefront of the UK's booming creative industries sector. Through key partnerships in film and television, theatre, digital culture and music, we provide a hub for research in the sector and are a proud supporter and convener of the arts and cultural organisations in Birmingham and beyond.
Our Shakespeare Institute leads the world in the study and performance of the Bard, thanks to our exclusive partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). While new feature film projects, artist residencies for under-represented musicians, and exciting forays into gaming and the immersive arts, demonstrate the breadth and vibrancy of creativity and research among our campus community.
Our Signing Shakespeare project is a powerful illustration of how creativity unlocks potential. Shakespeare is a compulsory element of the National Curriculum in England, yet many deaf young people struggle to access his work and there are very few resources available to help teachers support them. The resulting attainment gap is stark.
Since 2000, our academics have worked with the RSC to produce a programme of active, rehearsal room-based resources for the study of Shakespeare’s plays, supported by image-rich presentations and films created by deaf actors and directors using three different sign languages. So far, we have completed work on Macbeth, the most widely taught of Shakespeare’s plays, and distributed printed versions to every deaf school and major deaf unit in the UK. Now, we are creating similar resources for Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest in collaboration with the Birmingham Rep.
Making Shakespeare accessible to D/deaf children
Shakespeare Studies PhD/MA by Research
The Shakespeare Institute offers postgraduate researchers an peerless academic experience.