Dr Stuart Andrews
Senior Lecturer in Theatre

Summary

I work at the intersection of performance, place, and resilience — exploring how creative practices can help organisations and place managers understand, plan for, and respond to complex challenges. My work brings together research, consultancy, and leadership to support organisations in thinking differently about resilience and the role of culture in shaping and practising it.

As Co‑Director of Performing City Resilience, I collaborate internationally with emergency planners, cultural leaders, government officials, and organisations to develop creative, research‑led strategies. This work has helped partners reframe their approaches, revise policies and procedures, and build more adaptive and imaginative responses to local and global pressures.

My research spans arts, architecture, culture, emergency planning, environment, and urban resilience. With Patrick Duggan, I co‑authored Performing New Orleans: Rethinking Resilience in Art and Everyday Life (Louisiana State University Press, 2025), which examines the vital role of arts practices in the resilience of the city. I also serve as Series Editor for The City, part of Liminalities: A Journal of Performance Studies, and welcome proposals and expressions of interest.

Within universities, I have held leadership roles in research development, partnerships, and learning and teaching. I specialise in supporting colleagues to enhance the impact of their research, designing and leading degree programmes, and brokering collaborations across disciplines and sectors. At Brunel University of London, I lead the BA Theatre programme and teach on performance, place, and resilience, including on the MA in Wargaming and Resilience Planning. I supervise and have examined 'practice research' and conventional written doctoral projects - and examined both individual and collaborative submissions.

Across all my work, I aim to create energising, collaborative environments that support creative thinking, critical reflection, and meaningful change.

Qualifications

BA/PhD

Responsibility

Co-director: Performing City Resilience

Research Impact Co-Lead (Department of Arts and Humanities)

Programme Lead: BA Theatre

Brunel Hydrogen Arts Lead