About the Journal

THEATRE & PERFORMANCE STUDIES (TPS) is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to publishing high-quality original research covering all fields within the discipline of theatre and performance studies. The journal engages with a broad spectrum of topics—from classical drama to contemporary performance art, from traditional theatre to digital and virtual performance, from textual analysis to embodied practice—providing a serious and open scholarly platform for global theatre and performance researchers, practitioners, and educators.

The core conviction of TPS is “Let the thinking from the stage be heard by the world.” We believe that theatre and performance are not merely forms of artistic expression, but vital entry points for understanding the human condition, social structures, and cultural transformation. Performance studies offers a distinctive epistemological pathway—one that connects text and body, aesthetics and politics, tradition and innovation, the local and the global. The journal adopts a flexible publication policy that takes Open Access as the default model while allowing Non-Open Access publication under special circumstances, balancing the global free dissemination of scholarship with the specific needs of particular research contexts.

Publication Model and Open Access Statement

TPS operates a Hybrid Open Access Model, with the following specific policies:

Default Model: Full Open Access

In the vast majority of cases, TPS operates as a Diamond Open Access journal:

• Free for all readers: All articles published under the Open Access model are immediately, permanently, and unconditionally available to readers worldwide. No subscription, no registration, no paywalls. We believe that scholarly work in theatre and performance studies should be freely accessible to scholars, students, artists, theatre companies, cultural institutions, and the public worldwide, to promote knowledge accumulation and practical innovation in the performing arts.

• Zero or minimal cost for authors: TPS completely waives Article Processing Charges for papers recognised through peer review as being of exceptional scholarly quality, demonstrating outstanding originality and academic contribution. For other Open Access papers, the journal charges only a minimal fee far below industry standards, solely to sustain basic operations. Authors from under-resourced regions and the Global South may apply for full or partial fee waivers.

• Open licensing: All Open Access articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). Authors retain copyright of their work and grant anyone the right to share, adapt, and reuse the material, provided appropriate credit is given, to maximise knowledge dissemination and public impact in the field of theatre and performance studies.

Special Cases: Non-Open Access

In the following special circumstances, upon author request and with the approval of the editorial team, articles may be published under a Non-Open Access model:

• Funder mandates: Certain research funding bodies, cultural foundations, or collaborative projects impose specific copyright or access restrictions that conflict with the CC BY licence of full Open Access.

• Rights restrictions on performance images and archival materials: Content involving production photographs, stage design drawings, costume designs, rehearsal video excerpts, musical scores, or script excerpts still under copyright protection, where full open dissemination could raise legal or rights disputes.

• Cultural heritage and community sensitivity: Content involving indigenous ritual performances, religious ceremonial theatre, performance materials with cultural taboos, or oral performance histories closely tied to specific community interests, where full open dissemination could raise ethical or cultural rights concerns.

• Authors’ specific publication needs: Authors may request Non-Open Access publication based on reasonable grounds such as career development, institutional evaluation requirements, or future publication plans.

• Legal and compliance requirements: Laws and regulations in certain countries or regions impose specific restrictions on the dissemination of research materials involving political censorship, content classification, or public order concerns.

Under the Non-Open Access model: articles will be published under traditional subscription or paid-access arrangements; copyright arrangements and licensing conditions will be negotiated separately with authors; the journal will clearly mark the access status in the article’s metadata to ensure full transparency. The proportion of Non-Open Access articles will be strictly controlled to ensure that the journal’s overall Open Access character is not diluted. The editorial team retains final decision-making authority over the approval of Non-Open Access publication, and this decision will not affect the academic standards of peer review.

Aims, Scope, and Core Areas

TPS is rooted in the rich scholarly traditions of theatre studies and performance studies while actively responding to the plural transformations of contemporary performance practice. The journal’s fundamental position is that theatre and performance research requires historical depth, theoretical sharpness, and continuous dialogue with practice. We reject the narrow reduction of “theatre” to the analysis of literary texts, just as we reject the infinite expansion of “performance” to the point of losing analytical purchase. TPS strives to maintain a creative tension between text and body, between theatricality and everyday life, between aesthetic analysis and political critique.

The journal covers all fields of theatre and performance studies and especially welcomes high-quality submissions in the following areas:

Theatre History and Historiography

• Theatre history across all periods and civilisational regions

• Histories of the theatre: the historical evolution of space, architecture, and spectator-performer relations

• Methodologies of theatre historiography: archives, oral history, and historical writing

• The formation, dissemination, and reception of classical theatrical traditions

• Theatre history in colonial and postcolonial contexts

• Non-Western narratives of theatre history and the rewriting of global theatre history

Theatre Theory and Criticism

• Classical traditions of theatre theory: from Aristotle to Brecht

• Narrative theatre, epic theatre, theatre of the absurd, and postdramatic theatre theory

• The theoretical genealogy of Performance Studies

• Theatre semiotics, phenomenology, and reception theory

• The history, function, and contemporary challenges of theatre criticism

• Postmodernism, poststructuralism, and theatre

• Tragedy, comedy, tragicomedy, and contemporary reflections on genre theory

Dramaturgy and Textual Studies

• Literary analysis and stylistic studies of dramatic texts

• Contemporary rereadings of canonical playwrights: Shakespeare, Ibsen, Chekhov, Beckett, and others

• Contemporary playwriting and new writing practices: documentary theatre, collective creation, and postdramatic texts

• Adaptation theory and practice: from novel to stage, from stage to screen

• Translation and the circulation of transcultural playwriting

• Women playwrights, marginalised playwrights, and minority drama writing

Directing, Acting, and Actor Training

• Studies of directing theory and directorial styles

• Major acting methods: Stanislavski, Meisner, Grotowski, Suzuki, and others

• Comparative actor training systems and intercultural training methods

• Body, voice, and performance techniques

• Improvisation, collective creation, and devised theatre

• Psychological, emotional, and ethical dimensions of the actor-character relationship

• Performance in the digital age and virtual actors

Space, Scenography, and Stage Design

• The history of stage design and contemporary theatre design

• Lighting design, sound design, and multimedia theatre

• The politics of theatrical space: immersive, site-specific, and environmental theatre

• Costume, makeup, and the visual construction of character

• Stage technology and sustainable theatre practices

• Virtual stages: digital scenography, projection mapping, and mixed-reality performance

• The relationship between theatre architecture and urban space

Musical Theatre, Opera, and Intermedial Performance

• The history, aesthetics, and industry of musical theatre

• Opera studies: from Baroque to contemporary experimental opera

• Dance drama, ballet, and dance theatre

• Intermedial performance: theatre and film, television, and digital media

• Puppet theatre, shadow theatre, and object theatre

• Circus, acrobatics, and physical performance at the limits of the body

• The dramatic functions of music and sound in theatre

Applied Theatre and Community Performance

• Theatre education: curriculum, pedagogy, and aesthetic education

• Applied theatre: Theatre in Education, community theatre, and theatre in non-traditional settings

• Drama therapy, psychodrama, and rehabilitation theatre

• Prison theatre, marginalised community theatre, and social inclusion

• Theatre and conflict transformation, peacebuilding

• Theatre for development and Global South practices

• Senior theatre, intergenerational performance, and community engagement

Political Theatre and Protest Performance

• The traditions and contemporary forms of political theatre

• Protest, demonstrations, and street performance

• Censorship, taboo, and theatrical freedom

• Exile theatre, refugee theatre, and diasporic performance

• Feminist theatre and gender politics

• Queer performance and body politics

• Ecological theatre, climate crisis, and performance activism

• Postcolonial theatre and decolonial performance practices

Cultural Performance and Ritual Studies

• Ritual, festival, and religious performance

• Folk performance, traditional opera, and oral traditions

• Theorising cultural performance: from Turner to Schechner

• Intangible cultural heritage and the continuity of performance

• Tourist performance, cultural display, and authenticity

• Performance in everyday life: social roles and self-presentation

• Intercultural performance and cultural flows in globalisation

Dance and Body Studies

• Dance history: from classical ballet to contemporary dance

• Dance theory: body, kinaesthesia, and choreographic analysis

• Modern dance, postmodern dance, and conceptual dance

• Body and embodiment: dialogues between phenomenology and cognitive science

• Dance anthropology and ethnographic methods

• Choreographic process research and the dramatisation of dance

• Digital dance: motion capture, virtual bodies, and AI choreography

Puppet, Shadow, and Object Performance

• History, typology, and regional traditions of puppet theatre

• Aesthetics, techniques, and cultural transmission of shadow theatre

• Object theatre and material performance

• Masks, puppets, and the symbolic construction of character

• Innovation and interdisciplinarity in contemporary puppetry

• Animation, robotics, and non-human performers in performance

Media, Technology, and Digital Performance

• Digital theatre, networked performance, and telepresence

• Virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and immersive performance

• Social media performance, live streaming culture, and online audiences

• Artificial intelligence, generative art, and the future of performance

• Digital archives, performance documentation, and remediation

• Performance, role-playing, and narrative in video games

• Philosophy of technological performance: presence and absence of the virtual body

Theatre Management and Cultural Policy

• Theatre management, festival curation, and production

• Cultural policy and funding for the performing arts

• Ecologies of independent theatre, non-profit theatre, and commercial theatre

• Theatre audience research: participation, experience, and development

• International touring, cultural diplomacy, and performing arts exchange

• Creative cities, cultural districts, and performing arts infrastructure

• Theatre survival and transformation in the post-pandemic era

Interdisciplinary Dialogue
TPS consistently welcomes boundary-crossing scholarship from literary studies, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, history, cultural studies, media studies, musicology, dance studies, art history, psychology, education, gender studies, postcolonial studies, and related fields, provided it carries a clear connection to theatre and performance.