About Arkadium Performance Lab

a space where the body meets academic inquiry

Arkadium Performance Lab at the University of Edinburgh is a space where the body meets academic inquiry. Hosted by the Centre for Creative-Relational Inquiry at the School of Health in Social Science and Led by Edgar Rodríguez-Dorans, Sylvia Hillman, and Fangzhou Gu, this lab is dedicated to exploring, reflecting on, and integrating the performing arts – including theatre, dance, drama, and others – into research methodologies, fostering innovation, collaboration, and the impactful dissemination of knowledge.

Using performance in qualitative research

Transforming Ideas into Action
Performance is a powerful tool for research and communication. At Arkadium Performance Lab, we explore how theatre, choreography, monologues, and other creative forms can:
• Enhance research design: use performance to conceptualise and refine research questions.
• Analyse data: apply embodied methods to interpret complex narratives and phenomena.
• Ethical engagement: represent sensitive topics with care and authenticity.
• Disseminate findings: share research in accessible, emotionally resonant ways that reach diverse audiences.

Exploring the Intersection of Performing Arts and Qualitative Research

Examples of past and current projects include:

• ‘With Our Clipped Wings’: A performance exploring gay men’s identities through narrative portraiture.
• ‘He Kept Me Safe’: A play addressing intimate partner violence among gay and bisexual men, using theatre to amplify survivors’ voices.
• ‘Mi amigo Giovanni’s Death’: a play that explores how grief is understood through and transformed by movement and choreography.
• ‘Heavier than Air’: a theatre play written by Dan Harris and Stacy Holman Jones based on transcripts of interviews with queer teachers. 
• ‘Dave, the evanescent man’: a monologue devised by Tharin Phenwan on his research on ‘Advance Care Planning initiation and transformation in home-dwelling people with dementia’.
• ‘The Lived and Embodied Experience of Mothering with ADHD’: Sylvia Hillman’s PhD Counselling Studies project, which uses multimedia approaches such as film and dance to explore motherhood with ADHD. Sylvia brings our attention to uses of the body as knowledge, for example, when the voice gets stuck or words are too difficult to say.
•  ‘Understanding Narratives of Self through Embodied Experience of Traditional Chinese Secondary Education’: Fangzhou Gu’s doctoral project, which highlights the centrality of the body in self-narrative, examining how the body becomes a vital medium for knowing and communicating.

Whether you are a seasoned performer or new to the performing arts, the lab offers a supportive environment to experiment with different ways of engaging with your research project.

Photo by Roberto Ricciuti