Research projects 

A research team that includes Dr Anna Blackwell from the School of English has created a new interactive website (https://middlemarch.dmu.ac.uk/) that shows, in detail, how George Eliot’s classic novel, Middlemarch, was adapted, by one of Britain's most admired television dramatists, as a 6-part BBC serial in 1994. It brings together over 50 years' worth of documents (screenplays, notes, letters, research materials) by celebrated screenwriter Andrew Davies and it takes visitors on a journey, from the novel to the final tv production, through layers of scripts, correspondence, interviews, photographs and audio and video clips.

Dr Blackwell, Assistant Professor in Drama at the University of Nottingham is an expert in adaptions and co-led the research. She explains: "Of all of George Eliot’s novels, Middlemarch is the least frequently adapted for screen and undoubtedly poses the greatest challenge for screenwriters like Davies. These challenges include Middlemarch’s large ensemble cast of characters, the novel’s significant length and Eliot’s distinctive, ironic narratorial voice which moves fluidly between perspectives. The genetic edition seeks to illuminate Davies’ adaptive practice as well as the efforts of the crew and cast to bring Eliot’s novel to life."

The rich resource, which traces the production history of the landmark series, shot on location in the Lincolnshire town of Stamford, is furnished with over 300 multi-media assets, almost 500 notes and 41 editorial commentaries. It was created by a research team led by Professor Justin Smith, Director of the Cinema and Television History Institute, working closely with the George Eliot Archive and the George Eliot Fellowship.

This project develops a new collaboration between the School of English, Department of History (UoN) and Nottingham City Museum and Galleries. The project team will work with the Early Nottingham Craft gallery (Nottingham Castle) curators to enrich visitor experiences of its medieval alabasters and realise the impact of the work of Martin and Lutton. The project will situate the alabasters in their contemporary cultural context, using poetry and manuscript images from the medieval East Midlands. It will also employ themes of modern race and religion to link them to recent cultural events and analogues. Resources will be delivered via QR codes/Artcodes and existing Museum technology.

This project brings together a research team to investigate the potential of using theatre to communicate new knowledge and understanding on both ageing and experiences of healthcare in people with cerebral palsy (CP).

The project will produce one output: a 30-minute verbatim theatre performance performed by 2 UoN theatre students and 2 professional actors with CP at the University in July 2023. The performance will be directed by Nikie Miles-Wildin, a disabled theatre maker with extensive experience, and a contributor to the project. The performance will be realised through 5 workshops that will be researched, designed and facilitated by the research team and Miles-Wildin.

Our project partner and ultimate beneficiary of knowledge exchange and impact is Scope, the disability and equality charity in England and Wales. Scope will be involved at all stages of the research and will advise on how to disseminate the research to key stakeholders (GPs, physios, OTs, families and individuals with CP). The workshops and performance and will have a conceptual, instrumental and academic impact through a collaborative knowledge and research exchange that will establish new networks and relationships with research users both in the University of Nottingham, and beyond.