Kevin Egan
Senior Lecturer
Drama and Contemporary Performance
I am Programme Leader for the MA/MFA Performance programme and Senior Lecturer at Manchester School of Theatre. I am a theatre maker, performer, consultant, and academic. I am a core member of the internationally renowned theatre company Reckless Sleepers and have devised and performed in several projects including Schrodinger (2011), Negative Space (2014), It's Hot, It's Not (2019) and Binary Opposition (2025). I am a member of the Performance Research Group, and my research examines performance scoring and the application of a musicological methodology in the devising of performance. Recent publications include a co-authored article titled, Staging scores: Devising contemporary performances from classical music (2022), and a chapter in the book Following the Score: The Ravel Trilogy (2024), published by Intellect.
Academic and Professional Qualifications
MA Contemporary Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University
BA Creative Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University
Research
Research Interests
My research interests are broadly situated within the domain of live art and contemporary theatre, particularly with regard to current trends in theatrical composition and collaborative development. My MA thesis was focused on Goat Island’s use of 'gift and counter-gift' throughout the development of their work; exploring how audiences engage with, and feed in to, the company’s creative process. My research is also focussed around the notion of scored theatre and the appropriation of musical discourse as a compositional tool within contemporary theatre practice. My writing often draws on my association with the theatre company Reckless Sleepers, articulating the methods, perspectives, and ideas that are generated and refined in the making of performance projects.
Kevin Egan is a member of the Art and Performance Research Hub.
Exhibitions
Egan, K., 2015. Constructing Negative Space, Axis Arts Centre, 3/2/2015.
Performances
Wetherell, M., 2019. 'It's Hot, It's Not', Unicorn Theatre, London, 5/2/2019.
Wetherell, M., 2014. 'Negative Space by Reckless Sleepers', International Tour, 19/11/2014.
Mackenzie, N., 2013. 'Three Sisters by Plane Performance', National Tour, 8/3/2013.
Wetherell, M., 2012. 'Empire by Reckless Sleepers', Warwick Arts Centre, 22/11/2012.
Wetherell, M., 2011. 'Schrödinger by Reckless Sleepers', International Tour, 1/3/2011.
Book Chapters
Egan, K., 2024. 'A Score of a Score of a Score: examining concerto through Ravel's composition'. In Pinchbeck, M., Smith, O. (eds.) Following the Score: The Ravel Trilogy, pp. 95-122, Intellect, Bristol.
Internet Publications
Pinchbeck, M., Egan, K., 2012. 'Dramaturgy in Dialogue: Kevin Egan (Outside Eye Project)', https://outsideeyeproject.wordpress.com/2012/04/08/dramaturgy-in-dialogue-kevin-egan/.
Journal Articles
Pinchbeck, M., Egan, K., 2022. 'Staging Scores: Devising Contemporary Performances from Classical Music', Representing Classical Music in the Twenty-First Century, 7 (457).
Egan, K., 2018. 'Schrödinger's notes: a minimalist equation for a Reckless Sleepers project', Studies in Theatre and Performance, 39 (2), pp. 177-197.
Egan, K., 2013. 'Backpages 23.3: An Introduction to the Work of Reckless Sleepers', Contemporary Theatre Review, 23 (3), pp. 454-454.
Conference Papers
Egan, K., 2010. 'The Score as Text: music analysis, (de)composition, and the textual landscape in Plane Performance's Traviata project.', Text and Theatre Symposium, Manchester Metropolitan University, 25/3/2010 - 26/3/2010.
Other Outputs
Egan, K., Wetherell, M., 2020. 'Discussing Negative Space: 10 Questions for Reckless Sleepers'.
Egan, K., 2015. 'Constructing Negative Space'.
Mackenzie, N.K., 2014. 'The Flare Weekender 2014'.
Mackenzie, N.K., 2011. 'The Flare International Festival of New Theatre 2011 (Exhibition)'.
Mackenzie, N.K., Egan, K., Fenemore, A., 2010. 'Traviata by Plane Performance, devised theatre composition, presented at the Text and Theatre Symposium MMU Cheshire.'.
Mackenzie, N.K., Egan, K., 2008. 'Manchester International Student Theatre Festival, presented at Greenroom, Zion Arts Centre, Capitol Theatre, supported by Arts Council England, MMU and Greenroom.'.