Universities
C&T are developing a partnership with Imperial College London exploring how creativity, science and tech can be brought together in schoolsC&T is recognised internationally for its contribution to research at the intersection of drama, learning, participation, and digital technology. Our work is informed by a strong culture of practice-based and applied research, led by senior staff with doctoral expertise in these fields. Artistic Director Dr Paul Sutton and Creative Producer Dr Max Dean both hold PhDs exploring the relationship between drama, learning, digital participation, and emerging technologies. Their research has informed the development of Story Systems and Prospero, methodologies now used across education, community, arts, and research contexts.
Our team contributes actively to international scholarship through books, peer-reviewed journals, conferences, and collaborative research projects. Publications include contributions to leading journals such as Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre & Performance, alongside major texts including Drama, Education and New Technology and the second edition of The Applied Theatre Reader. C&T staff regularly present at international conferences and have taught, lectured, and collaborated with universities across the UK, Europe, North America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. This combination of academic rigour and real-world practice makes C&T a valued partner for universities seeking innovative approaches to research, teaching, knowledge exchange, public engagement, and impact.
Research
Research has been central to C&T’s work for more than three decades. Our practice combines artistic innovation, creative learning, and digital technology with a commitment to generating new knowledge that benefits the arts, education, and community sectors. Through partnerships with universities, schools, cultural organisations, and community groups, we develop and test new approaches to participation, storytelling, inclusion, and engagement.
Our research is grounded in real-world practice and informed by academic rigour. We undertake practice-based research, evaluation, and knowledge exchange projects that explore how drama, theatre, digital technology, and Story Systems can create meaningful social, educational, and cultural impact. This work has contributed to peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, books, and collaborative research programmes in the UK and internationally.
From developing innovative participatory methodologies to creating new digital tools such as Prospero, C&T uses research not simply to understand the world, but to actively shape new possibilities for learning, creativity, participation, and social change.
Developing or leading a research project you think C&T’s tools and methodologies could contribute to? We always welcome new ideas and thinking and would love to find out more about your work. Please get in touch.
Researching and documenting ancient Kenyan Rock Art sites as part of a collaboration with Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Teaching & Learning
C&T has extensive experience working with universities as teaching partners, guest lecturers, researchers, and creative practitioners. Our team has contributed to undergraduate, postgraduate, and professional development programmes across the UK and internationally, sharing expertise in applied theatre, participatory arts, digital storytelling, creative technology, and research methodologies. Alongside one-off teaching, we offer flexible residency models that embed artists, researchers, and technologists within academic departments, enabling collaborative curriculum development, practice-based research, student projects, and public engagement activity. These residencies create opportunities for students and staff to work alongside experienced practitioners while exploring new approaches to creativity, participation, and innovation.
Want to find out how C&T can contribute to undergraduate or postgraduate studies? Get in touch to find out about our one off workshops, short residency projects or durational programmes.
Collaboration
Collaboration lies at the heart of C&T’s approach. We believe the most innovative and impactful work emerges through long-term partnerships that bring together different disciplines, perspectives, and forms of expertise. Over the years we have collaborated with institutions including the University of Kent, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Imperial College London, and the University of Worcester, developing projects that span research, teaching, digital innovation, creative practice, public engagement, and knowledge exchange. We are always keen to explore new partnerships and shared areas of enquiry.
If you would like to explore routes to develop a partnership with C&T, or deelop use of our Prospero platform, get in touch.
Resources created by the University of Kent in C&T’s Prospero platform following research exploring drama work with autistic girls.
Innovation
Innovation is at the core of C&T’s identity. For more than thirty years, we have explored how theatre, storytelling, participation, and emerging technologies can be combined to create new forms of learning, engagement, research, and creative expression. Rather than treating technology as an add-on, we integrate it into the design of participatory experiences, enabling people to become active contributors rather than passive audiences.
This commitment has led to the development of Story Systems, C&T’s distinctive methodology for designing interactive experiences that combine dramatic frameworks, participant agency, digital interaction, and collective meaning-making. Story Systems have been applied across arts and culture, education, research, community engagement, health, and international contexts, creating new opportunities for participation and collaboration.
Our innovation is supported by Prospero, the digital platform developed by C&T to enable storytelling, co-creation, learning, evaluation, and research at scale. Together, Story Systems and Prospero provide a framework for experimenting with new approaches to creative practice, pedagogy, civic engagement, and knowledge exchange.
For universities, this offers opportunities to collaborate on practice-based research, digital innovation, curriculum development, public engagement, and interdisciplinary enquiry. We see innovation not simply as the adoption of new technologies, but as the creation of new ways for people to learn, participate, connect, and generate knowledge together.
C&T’s distinctive model of practice is backed up by proven academic rigour. We would love to explore how this unique fusion of applied theatre, pedagogy and technology could contribute to your institution’s research and teaching. Please get in touch.