This is the first book to explore the rich range of research and development (R&D) practices in contemporary British theatremaking. Featuring chapters by internationally recognised researchers, as well as interviews with innovative theatremakers, this book analyses the work of some of the most exciting theatre companies in Britain. This collection draws on conversations with Selina Thompson, Rosie Elnile, Third Angel and many others, offering hints and tips for your own creative practice. The book argues passionately for the funding of R&D, recognising its enormous significance to British theatre-making processes.

Tom Cantrell is a Professor of Theatre and Head of the School of Arts and Creative Technologies at the University of York, UK. He has published widely on acting processes, including Acting in Documentary Theatre (Palgrave 2013), Acting in British Television (Palgrave 2017) and Exploring Television Acting (Bloomsbury 2018), co-written with Christopher Hogg.

Katherine Graham is a Senior Lecturer in Theatre at the University of York, UK, where her research focuses on the agency of materials in performance. She has also worked extensively as a lighting designer for theatre and dance and has published work about light in Theatre and Performance Design Journal, Studies in Theatre and Performance, and Contemporary Theatre Review. She is co-editor, with Kelli Zezulka and Scott Palmer, of Contemporary Performance Lighting: Experience, Creativity, Meaning (Bloomsbury 2023).

Mark Love-Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Theatre at the University of York, UK. He has research interests in devised and physical theatre, community theatre, and the interplay of writing, directing and devising. His latest publication is the Routledge Performance Practitioners book on Frantic Assembly, co-written with Professor Mark Evans.

Karen Quigley is a Senior Lecturer in Theatre at the University of York, UK. Her first monograph, Performing the Unstageable: Success, Imagination, Failure was published by Bloomsbury in 2020. She has also published research on a range of subjects including site-specific performance, solo spectatorship, embodied voice, British television comedy and theatre-fiction.