Academic Writing
Dr James Kenworth’s research interests and specialisms centre on practice-based investigations into the contemporary reworking of biographical and historical drama through new writing for the stage; the development of localised and “remixed” adaptations of literary classics via site-responsive and locally made/engaged dramaturgical practices; and the making and presentation of theatre within non-traditional and alternative performance contexts.
James’s professional practice in site-local/responsive and locally engaged/driven new writing for the stage is attracting wider attention in the academic and higher education community. He has presented numerous papers/talks on the Newham Plays and has been invited to talk and inform peers/educators about the Newham Plays at Creative Writing conferences abroad and in London. He has written about his creative practice for peer-reviewed journals Critical Stages/Scenes Critique, RiDE: Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance and Contemporary Theatre Review.
James has written:
“The theatre practice I have originated, developed, and sustained in Newham for over a decade is a coherent body of research, investigating and revealing meaningful ways to embed the life of a play in the town, place, or community in which they are written, rehearsed, and performed. My theatre texts/scripts explore and respond to local history and culture, built on by the productions discovering ways to negotiate the relation of these texts to specific local sites. Through methodologies of adaptation/appropriation, historical research, dramaturgy, and site-responsive production techniques, my work takes as its wellspring the culture, history, and present community of Newham to investigate creative ways of valorising and privileging area and community, via the use of public spaces as performance auditoria, and the mixed economy participation of professional and local talent.
A ‘Newham Play’ needs to illuminate or unearth a ‘hand in glove’ congruence between physical site/space and subject matter. It should be apparent to an audience, especially (although not exclusively) a local one, why the play has a resonance, relevance and significance to their lives and for their community. The principal investigation behind the Newham Plays lies in exploring the question: how can iconic literary classics and historical drama/biography be reimagined and ‘localized’ to reflect a sense of a place, people and culture? How do plays set in the past hold up a mirror to the present, to make a ‘contemporary statement written for our times’? (Jellicoe 121) It is the development of a methodology of Pro-Localism that has enabled me to shift my interests in making theatre in the community, away from an overtly ‘worthy’, or primarily issue-led approach, and create an infrastructure of support in which to produce unconventional and unusual local stories for and about Newham.
I employ the term Pro-Localism in this thesis to describe the interrelationships between professional expertise/experience and local young talent, one that extends beyond the primary nexus of young people performing alongside professional actors. I have previously described the model of actors and young people working side by side in this thesis as a ‘mixed economy’ approach, and I use it to focus on the benefits of using performing arts to give young people a wider, rich learning experience. But if we broaden out the approach to include the relationship of funders, partners and stakeholders we can say confidently that there is a wider and richer nexus than originally envisaged.”