TaPRA is delighted to announce the details of the winning entries in this year’s Postgraduate Essay competition, decided by a panel led by the editors from Contemporary Theatre Review, RiDE (Research in Drama & Education) and Studies in Theatre and Performance.

We were hugely impressed this year by the range and level of postgraduate work across all disciplines of theatre and performance displayed by entrants to the competition and would like to thank all those who took the time to send us their work. However we did have to make a choice, and our winners are as follows:

First prize is awarded to Charlotte Armstrong, PhD candidate at the University of York, for her essay ‘Representations of The Degenerate Condition from Source to Stage: Disability and Morality in Franz Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten’.

The runner-up prize is awarded to Poppy Spowage, PhD Candidate at the Royal Holloway University of London, for her essay ‘East African Soul Train: Producing Performance and Creating Atmosphere’.

The prizes will also be formally announced and celebrated at the TaPRA conference which is taking place in Aberystwyth from 5th-7th of September 2018.