2024/25 Taught Postgraduate Programme Catalogue

MA Performance Design

Total credits: 180

Entry requirements:

Entry Requirements are available on the Course Search entry

School/Unit responsible for the parenting of students and programme:

School of Performance & Cultural Industries

Examination board through which the programme will be considered:

Programme specification:

The MA Performance Design course responds to the international interest in design-led experience that can be seen through global, agenda-setting events such as the international Prague Quadrennial for Performance Design and Space and the international growth in scholarship that investigates the intersections of design and performance. The expansion and significance of design for performance in the 21st century has impacted on all areas of audience experience and extends well beyond the theatre to areas such as; art installation, event design, museums, game development and XR. The course explores scenography and performance-making from various perspectives informed by current research and innovative practices including immersive and participatory forms of performance design, design-led performance, audience experience and contemporary spectatorship.


On this course, students build on their existing creative practice (typically in theatre, art, architecture or design) and experiment with the creative application of design elements, including light, space, sound and costume, discovering how to shape live performance and generate meaning for contemporary audiences. 

You’ll use our specialist facilities and work collaboratively to investigate scenographic experiences and create original performance work that is design-led.  

You’ll develop skills in documentation and reflection so that you can develop your individual creative practice. 

You’ll also examine and critically evaluate contemporary global design-led performance practices, from immersive and participatory experiences to intermedial performance, eco-scenography and site-specific performance, and use key concepts to set the agenda for your own practice and research.

You’ll devise and carry out an independent research project into an aspect of performance design of your choosing. You’ll be introduced to a range of research methodologies, including practice-led research.

You’ll use our specialist facilities to explore the performance experiences that can be created with light, space, objects, costume, sound, projection and digital technologies like pervasive media and mixed reality, and present work as part of a public programme of performance in stage@leeds.

We regularly invite innovative artists in the field of performance design to lead workshops and seminars. In the past, these have included; Imitating the Dog, ZU-UK, Quarantine, Louise Ann Wilson, David Shearing, Julie Rose Bower, Freddie Wulf, Lucy Thornett, Rosie Elnile, Max Johns and Naomi Kuyck-Cohen.

The staff on this course are at the forefront of the study of scenography, especially at postgraduate levels (Masters and PhD). They have researched and published on how scenography makes a distinct contribution to performance both on and off the stage. Their books such as The Cambridge Introduction to Scenography (2009), Light (2013), and Scenography Expanded (2017) are used widely by educators, researchers and creative professionals around the world.  

Leeds has a thriving cultural scene, and is home to contemporary performance events like Light Night, Compass Festival and Transform Festival. Our industry connections allow students to work closely with local organisations such as Leeds Playhouse, Opera North, IOU and innovative artists in the field of performance design. Students have worked as festival volunteers and have used industry connections to inform and enrich their studies. Our close connections with national and international networks, such as the Society of British Theatre Designers, OISTAT and the Prague Quadrennial mean that the curriculum and co-curricular opportunities are informed by practice and thinking at the forefront of contemporary Performance Design.

Year1 - View timetable

[Learning Outcomes, Transferable (Key) Skills, Assessment]

Compulsory modules:

Candidates will be required to study the following compulsory modules:

Optional modules:

Candidates will be required to study 30 credits from the following optional modules:

Last updated: 04/06/2024 14:31:00

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