PhD and Teaching Associate Karina Likorish Quinn leads ‘Celebrating Multilingualism in the Classroom’ Workshop – 1 June 2019

Date: 1 June 2019, 2.00pm – 3.30pm

Venue: Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU

One in five state-educated UK children are exposed to a language other than English at home. This figure rises to 50% of state-educated children in areas such as London or Leicester. And yet there is no space in the National Curriculum for children to explore their multilingualism.

This free workshop, led by Karina Lickorish Quinn and Rahul Bery, will explore ways to bring multilingualism into the secondary MFL and English classroom as a resource that can enrich all students’ interaction with the learning of reading and writing. The session will furnish educators with practical, versatile activities and resources to use to encourage multilingual students to make creative use of their language skills and to get young people thinking about the importance of language. 

Karina Lickorish Quinn is a Peruvian-English writer, an English teacher at Townley Grammar School, and a Teaching Associate in Creative Writing at Queen Mary University of London. She was previously a lecturer in English and Creative Writing at the University of Reading. Her work has been published by The White ReviewThe Offing, and Asymptote, and she is currently working on her debut novel, represented by Emma Paterson at Aitken Alexander. Karina has a particular interest in multilingual literature and in diversifying the school curriculum, especially in the English classroom.  

Rahul Bery is a translator from Spanish and Portuguese into English, as well as a qualified secondary teacher with experience teaching Modern Foreign Languages and English as an Additional Language in primary and secondary schools in London, Bristol and South Wales, where he is currently based. His translations of authors such as Álvaro Enrigue, Guadalupe Nettel and Daniel Galera have appeared in publications including Granta and The White Review. He is currently the British Library’s translator in residence.

See final year drama students’ work at The Crown Jewels Festival on 16-17 May 2019

The Crown Jewels Festival | 16-17 May 2019 | Chats Palace, E9 6DF

The Crown Jewels Festival is two days of exciting new performance by final year Drama students at QMUL. Over the last five months, the artists have been leading their own independent and group practice based research projects. Their hard work in the studio has investigated a wide range of topics from explorations of body and identity politics, to pushing the form of durational performance, to using soap in performance and much, much more. Come and join us at Chats Palace on 16th and 17th May to see some new performance!

Follow us on social media! We will release a link to book tickets for the festival soon. Admission is free, but book to reserve a space!

24/7 Online Mental Health Support for QMUL Students on Big White Wall

Queen Mary students going through a tough time can now access free online support with Big White Wall. Whether you’re struggling to sleep, feeling low, stressed or unable to cope, Big White Wall can help you get support, take control and feel better.

You will have access to a 24/7 online community and professional support from trained counsellors. Big White Wall provides a safe space online to get things off your chest, explore your feelings, get creative and learn how to self-manage your mental health and wellbeing.

Big White Wall is totally anonymous, so no one will know you’ve chosen to use it unless you tell them!

93% of members feel better as a result of using the service, and nearly 90% use Big White Wall as an out-of-hours support.

To join Big White Wall, simply go to www.bigwhitewall.com and sign up under Queen Mary University of London with your university e-mail address.

MA Live Art student Şenay Camgöz to present her film HALA at the V&A

Our MA Live Art student Şenay Camgöz will screen her 6 minute film, ‘Introducing HALA’ at the V&A tomorrow, Thursday 25 April 2019 at 8.30pm following a talk about art school with QMUL’s Dr Dominic Johnson and Dr Martin O’Brien.

The event is free and is part of the museum’s V&A Friday Late series. 

Must-read for those thinking of applying for English and Drama to start in 2019 and those who have applied already

We are currently accepting late applications for our suite of undergraduate English, Drama and joint courses. Here’s some key points about the application process for 2019:


You can still apply to study English and Drama with us in 2019

The main UCAS deadline has passed but you can still apply to our courses through UCAS.

Once you apply we will look through your application and aim to make an offer within 4 weeks of receiving your application via UCAS.

If you need help or would like an update on your application please email: sed-admissions@qmul.ac.uk


Outstanding Potential Award & Offer Holder Days

Our undergraduate Outstanding Potential Award scheme is now closed. Congratulations if you were given the Outstanding Potential Award or other offer with us.

Don’t worry if not or you are worried about your grades we would love to hear from you on results day if you have any questions about your offer.

Our Offer holder Days have now all taken place for 2019 entry.

Missed an Offer Holder Day?

Campus Tours: To get a general tour of the Mile End campus. Book online. Let us know when you’re coming via email: sed-web@qmul.ac.uk and we’ll try to arrange someone from English and Drama to talk to you.

Questions: If you have any questions about your offer or applying please email: sed-admissions@qmul.ac.uk


Results Day and Clearing

A-level results day is Thursday 15 August 2019 and this is when the main clearing and confirmation process begins.

We recommend adding it to your calendar if you wish to apply to us through clearing. We are likely to have limited vacancies for some courses.

If you need any advice or would like to talk to us before this date please email: sed-admissions@qmul.ac.uk.


Contact us

Ask a question

Tel: +44 (0)20 7882 8910

Email: sed-web@qmul.ac.uk

The Verbatim Project reveals young people’s thoughts on leaving care and going to university to the government’s Office for Students

BA (Hons) English and Drama student, Clarice Montero, tells us what it was like to join The Verbatim Formula:

On Wednesday the 27th of March I was part of a team of nine London-based drama practitioners and students armed with silent disco headphones, laminated sheets of paper, paper plates, colouring pens and some ipods who found themselves in an office conference room in Bristol with an audience of around thirty office workers.

The team represented The Verbatim Formula (TVF), a collaborative participatory arts project founded by Maggie Inchley (Queen Mary University’s Senior Lecturer in Performance) and Sylvan Baker (lecturer at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama). Aiming to ‘make listening visible’, TVF specialises in sharing the stories of young people in (social) care and care leavers, including those in Higher Education.

TVF utilise the method of Headphone Verbatim in which to carry the life experiences and testimonies of young care-experienced people to a variety of audiences, most notably to the authorities that have the power to shape the care and education systems.

On this occasion, TVF were visiting the Office for Students (OfS), a newly formed body responsible for the regulation of Education across England. To put it simply, they are the Ofsted of Universities.

Headphone Verbatim requires a performer to listen to an audio recording of a testimony through headphones while saying what they hear out loud as accurately as possible. It’s a technique that requires focused attention but for those listening to the performer, the experience is very impactful; the performer becomes a vessel through which the idiosyncrasies of the original speaker add an authenticity to the speech.

The technique allows the voice of the care experienced to retain its potency and personality without their physical presence making them a fetish-ised object for the audience. When utilised in business and corporate contexts, this technique can serve to transform young people from numbers into people, hopefully reigniting the urgency and intensity of TVF’s ultimate aim; to improve the lives of the care-experienced.

The event took place during the office workers’ lunch break. In the space of one hour the TVF team introduced themselves by explaining what belonging means to them (an important theme from university related testimonies), encouraged the workers to reflect on their own experiences of belonging and not belonging (which they wrote down on paper plates) , explained the aims of TVF, performed over ten testimonies using Headphone Verbatim, and then allowed the office participants to join the facilitators in a Verbatim Chorus in which they too got to attempt Headphone Verbatim.

As a third year student it’s great to have been part of this process. Getting to be part of the testimony collection process and to perform with TVF’s amazing team has taught me so much. I’ve wanted to experience the powerful potential of participatory theatre since I started my degree but when I first informed Maggie that I was interested in getting involved with her project I didn’t imagine getting stuck in to something so deeply important so quickly. If this project has taught me anything it’s that: a) Great experiences are only a chat with your lecturer away and b) well intentioned projects like TVF really do have the power to affect change. The expressions of concentration and empathy on the faces of our audience proved just how powerful listening can be.

Stay updated with the Verbatim Formula at http://www.theverbatimformula.org.uk/

Spring Update from Network: The QMUL Centre for the Creative and Cultural Economy

We caught up with Professor Morag Shiach to talk about the latest from Network: The QMUL Centre for the Creative and Cultural Economy, which is based in the School of English and Drama. The centre has been involved in a number of international collaborations over recent weeks.

In February it participated in a workshop with researchers at the Laboratory of Excellence for the Creative and Cultural Economy in Paris, exploring how researchers from QM might work with them in the future. Colleagues from English and Drama, Business and Management, and Law shared their research on creative clusters, digital innovation, and intellectual property.

Last week Network welcomed to QM a delegation of policymakers and creative economy practitioners from Egypt and Indonesia, who were part of the British Council project Developing Inclusive and Creative Economies (DICE).

The workshop presented QM’s work on arts and social transformation, on social inclusion in the creative economy, and on digital platforms for craft. Finally, Network has just been invited to undertake some consultancy for the British Council focussed on the development of effective methods of assessment and evaluation for creative hubs in Thailand. This will work particularly with ‘hyperlocal’ creative hubs, co-creating effective and robust approaches to understanding what works for them.

Why should you complete the National Student Survey?

Why should you take part?

  • The NSS provides you with the opportunity to provide feedback on your whole learning experience.
  • Feedback from the NSS will be used to improve the experience for future students just as you have benefitted from previous students’ feedback.
  • The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete online.
  • The NSS is run by an independent market research company and all answers are anonymous.
  • The NSS is an opportunity to make your voice heard in a nationally recognised format.
  • Results are made publicly available to help prospective students make informed decisions of where and what to study.
  • The Students’ Union is supportive of the NSS.
  • You can claim a £5 reward for taking part. Simply forward your NSS completion confirmation email to tell-us@qmul.ac.uk.

STUDENT STRESS BUSTER FAIR – Tuesday 26 March 2019 in ArtsOne

Brexit may be dividing our country but next week ArtsOne schools are uniting for a STUDENT STRESS BUSTER FAIR.

All students are welcome but particularly third years.

Tuesday 26 March 2019 – ArtsOne Foyer – 11am-2pm – Free, no booking required

  • School of Politics and International Relations, School of English and Drama and the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film will be hosting an Arts One Student Stress Buster fair on Tuesday, 26th March from 11am-2pm in the foyer of Arts One.
  • Come and meet staff and get information on QMUL support services, mental and emotional health, careers counselling and well being activities.
  • Talk to staff about  concerns you may have about exams or dissertations and give us your views and ideas on how QMUL can improve support for students.
  • Freebies include fruit/donuts/anti-stress balls and mini plants.

No need to book, just pop by our information stand.

New Augusto Boal Book from our very own Ali Campbell Published Today: ‘The Theatre of the Oppressed in Practice Today’

Dr Ali Campbell introduces the new book:

I’m delighted to announce publication of my book: The Theatre of the Oppressed in Practice Today: An Introduction to the work and principles of Augusto Boal on 21st March.

“The book aims to open up to a new generation of students, researchers and practitioners the techniques of my dear friend and teacher Augusto Boal.  Boal, the legendary pioneer of the Theatre of the Oppressed movement, created over a prolific lifetime the revolutionary participatory techniques of Forum and Image Theatre. Through these activities, communities worldwide have been empowered to explore the issues they face through the language of radical participatory performance.

This book tracks my own thirty years on that life-changing journey, through practical examples, conversations and hands-on ‘recipes’, distilling what I have learned through practice, for the reader to use and in turn, to adapt.  Boal more than most contemporary practitioners has been exhaustively theorized but the practical elements have been missing.

From the first discussions with my publishers – Bloomsbury – I have sought to use practical examples to bring the underlying principles of the work to life as vividly and honestly as possible.

I use my own stories and the adaptations of techniques I have co-created with groups across three decades and five continents to do this. In the second half of the book I invite the inspiring people I have been privileged to work with to share back with me, always grounding our discussions (and disagreements!) in lived experience.

I hope this book finds a place with you and fulfills its intention to do a service to the Theatre of the Oppressed and especially – if you are a teacher as I am – opens up to new theatre-makers the work of one of the greatest teachers I have ever known.”

Ali Campbell on working with the local community (2014) from QMUL School of English and Drama on Vimeo.

Drama Graduate Emily Howarth presents her new show Dumped in 2019

We’re excited to share news about Emily Howarth who graduated from our BA Drama programme in 2016.

Her new show dumped has just dropped some dates for 2019:

About the show

‘A one woman, musical, comedy shit-storm about the first time your heart gets smashed into a million tiny pieces, and the songs that make you feel less alone with your crazy, crazy break-up feelings. Part stand-up, part music performance and part emotional unraveling, ‘Dumped’ is about surviving through song.’

Emily says:

‘This show unpacks the beautiful, pathetic and empowering break-up song genre, highlighting the good, bad and the most pitiful. The concept centres around tapping into the experience of rejection through the close dissection of break-up songs. I interweave music analysis and anecdotal material with live song covers accompanied by my badass electric ukulele.’

Young people present their experiences of care to Minister for Children, Nadhim Zahawi MP and the Department for Education

On 7 March, Young people from Wandsworth CLICK (Children in Care Council) designed, produced and performed the event ‘My Story, My Words’, based on their experiences of care and hosted by the Minister for Children, Nadhim Zahawi at the Department of Education UK.

The event was part of a four-day workshop programme led by The Verbatim Formula, a participatory research project for care-experienced young people.

It uses verbatim theatre techniques, listening and dialogue to work with young people, care leavers, social workers, and universities. The project is produced by Queen Mary University of London and People’s Palace Projects in partnership with Battersea Arts Centre, Wandsworth Council and GLA, with the support of the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

For more info on the project go to theverbatimformula.org.uk.

8 English and Drama Staff Shortlisted for Education Awards

We are delighted to announce that 8 of our English and Drama teaching team have been shortlisted for QMSU Education Awards and lots more have been nominated for their positive contributions.

This year’s Education Awards will be held on Monday 25 March at Drapers Hall where the winners will be announced.

Academic Support Award

This award is for a lecturer, supervisor or tutor who has provided you with excellent academic support. Staff from other eligible departments also include, but are not limited to: CAPD, Careers and Thinking Writing.

Bridget Escolme – School of English and Drama
Assessment and Feedback Champion

This award is for a member of academic staff who sets the benchmark in assessment and feedback.

Nadia Atia – School of English and Drama
Bridget Escolme – School of English and Drama
Innovative Teaching Award

This award is for a lecturer, supervisor or tutor who has explored new models of delivering teaching and has used new techniques to engage you in your learning.

Bridget Escolme – School of English and Drama
Rehana Ahmed – School of English and Drama
Teacher of the Year

This award is for an outstanding all-round teacher who is enthusiastic about their subject, shows commitment to getting the best out of their students and whose teaching always leaves them wanting more.

Karina Lickorish-Quinn – School of English and Drama
Maria Grazia Turri – School of English and Drama
Postgraduate Teaching Champion

This award is for outstanding teaching or support from a postgraduate teaching assistant, demonstrator or advisor. This is not an award for those who teach postgraduates, but for those postgraduates who teach

Alessandro Simari – School of English and Drama
Mafruha Mohua – School of English and Drama
Ruby Hannah Tuke – School of English and Drama

Join our experts Shahidha Bari, Tiffany Watt Smith and Jen Harvie at #BBCFreeThinking Festival 2019

Join our experts Shahidha Bari, Tiffany Watt Smith and Jen Harvie for #BBCFreeThinking Festival 2019 with this year’s theme ‘Free thinking gets Emotional’ from 29 March with BBC Radio 3 in Gateshead.

Highlights include:

  • The Actors’ Guide to the Emotions hosted by our very own Shahidha Bari and featuring Jen Harvie on the panel on 31 March
  • Discover strange and forgotten emotions from the past with the Lost Emotions Machine from Queen Mary University of London’s ‘Living With Feeling’ project. Happening throughout the festival.
  • The Emotion of Now panel discussion including Tiffany Watt Smith talking about Schadenfreude on 30 March.
  • “Calm Down Dear” – How Angry Should Politics Get? debate chaired by Shahidha Bari on 30 March.