Royal Holloway University of London & the University of Birmingham announce a one-day symposium
Dealing with Martin Crimp
Royal Court Theatre, London, 12 January 2013

To coincide with his new play In the Republic of Happiness, this event will bring together theatre makers and academics to discuss the work of Martin Crimp, one of the most important, original and challenging playwrights of our time.

Since the early 1980s Martin Crimp's work has been of singular importance in UK theatre and elsewhere. From work like Dealing with Clair (1988) and Play with Repeats (1989) at Richmond's Orange Tree Theatre to his collaboration with the Royal Court in The Treatment (1993), Attempts on Her Life (1997), The Country (2000) and The City (2008), Crimp's plays have always shown a distinctive vision of contemporary society, and a restless inventiveness with theatrical form. His work stakes out new territory for the coexistence – and mutual questioning – of aesthetics and politics, the private and the public.

This conference will feature academics and artists to explore critical and creative perspectives on this unique body of work and will feature Martin Crimp in conversation.

This one-day conference aims to explore the dynamics and significance of Crimp's work for the contemporary theatre stage. We are now inviting proposals for papers, which might focus on:

• Crimp's formal innovation
• Crimp's theatre and the domestic
• Crimp's political theatre
• Crimp's stage-scapes: physical and conceptual spaces
• Crimp's theatre and the physicality of language
• Crimp and others: playwrights, traditions, directors, collaborators
• Crimp's theatre outside the UK: international productions and reception
• Crimp's translations, versions and/or opera work

The proposed list of topics is indicative and we would also welcome contributions in areas that are not covered above. If you would like to present a practice as research piece, please do get in touch.

Please send us your proposals by 10 September 2012. Details at http://tinyurl.com/dealingwithcrimp

Dan Rebellato & Vicky Angelaki.