Dr Phoebe Patey-Ferguson
Programme Director for Queer Performance MA
Summary
Phoebe Patey-Ferguson is an academic, artist and producer. Their research expertise is on international theatre festivals, rooted in the Sociology of Theatre and Performance. This work frequently intersects with their further research interests in live art, contemporary British theatre, and queer theory. Phoebe’s Doctoral thesis examined the history and practice of international theatre festivals in Britain, with particular focus on the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) and its social, political and economic context.
Phoebe is a practising live artist and frequently works as a dramaturg for contemporary performance makers. They have worked as a producer with LIFT, In Between Time (IBT), and VFD delivering international festivals of theatre and live art. Phoebe frequently collaborates with organisations to create public talks programmes and symposiums, this has recently included Buzzcut Festival, the Live Art Development Agency (LADA) and Scottee & Friends.
Teaching
Research
Teaching Area
Theatre and Social Change BA, Queer Performance MA
Qualifications
PhD: The London International Festival of Theatre in Context (1947-2016) – Goldsmiths, University of London (2019)
MA in Performance and Culture: Interdisciplinary Perspectives – Goldsmiths, University of London (with distinction) (2013)
BA in Drama and Theatre Studies – Prifysgol Aberystwyth University (First Class Hons) (2012)
Memberships
SCUDD Executive (2020-present)
Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (2020)
Professional Practice
Live Art Club London (2018-present) – co-founder and facilitator
‘THERESAMAYSMACKDOWN’ (2016-9) – director and performer
‘Sex Tapes’ (2018) – artist and performer
Publications
Patey-Ferguson, P (2020), ‘LIFT and the GLC vs. Thatcher, London’s Cultural Battleground in 1981,’ New Theatre Quarterly (36) no.1 (2020).
Patey-Ferguson, P (2019) ‘I Call A Live Art Strike,’ Live Art Alamanac vol.5 (London: LADA).
Patey-Ferguson, P (2018) ‘Sticky Tits,’ Scottee: I Made It (London: LADA, 2018).
Conference Papers
‘I am the Real Mimosa: the fabulous fabulations of M)IMOSA/ Twenty Looks or Paris is Burning at the Judson Church by Cecila Bengolea, François Chaignaud, Trajal Harrell, and Marlene Monteiro Freitas” – Liverpool Hope, TaPRA 2021
‘Pissing on/off the Rich: the Transgender Terrorist Performances of Rose Wood,’ – University of Exeter, TaPRA 2019
‘Cultural Dissonance as a Critical Element in the Production of Heterotopic Theatre Festivals,’ – University of Oxford, SCUDD and TaPRA Postgraduate Symposium 2019
‘100% London? The (mis)representation of the city in Rimini Protokoll,’ – Goldsmiths, University of London, The Sociology of Theatre and Performance Colloquium 2016
‘I am the real Mimosa’: an exercise in queer world-making in the performance choreographies of Trajal Harrell,’ – University of Roehampton, Congruence and Contestation: Contemporary Feminism and Performance 2015
‘Fujiko Nakaya’s Fog Bridge: New Perceptions and Transformations of Art in Public Space,’ – University of Copenhagen, The European Doctoral Seminar in Culture, Criticism and Creativity 2015.
Research Interests
International festivals of contemporary performance and live art.
Festival histories and practices in the UK.
Contemporary performance and social justice.
Queer and trans performance.
Live art in nightlife spaces.