Dr Lucy Tyler is Associate Professor of Performance Practices at the 91µ¼º½, where she has taught for over 10 years. Her research and practice connect Higher Education with the theatre industry through a sustained engagement with the development of new performance, examining how the structures, labour and economies of theatre production might be understood, challenged and reorganised.
Lucy began her career as a playwright, working with theatres and companies in the UK and USA, before working as a script reader, Literary Associate and Associate Writer. She has continued to work professionally as a playwright, dramaturg and producer, experiences that underpin her research into the material conditions of theatre production. She is the Principal Investigator of Work in Progress, a decade-long partnership between the 91µ¼º½ and South Street Arts Centre, funded by Arts Council England and IAA funds. The project develops alternative models of theatre R&D, creating infrastructure through which artists can experiment, develop and make new performance.
Lucy is the author of English Play Development under Neoliberalism, 2000–2022 (Cambridge University Press, 2025), a study of the institutionalisation of English play development. Drawing on research into the principal producers of new writing supported by Arts Council England, the book examines play development as a form of cultural production shaped by institutional, economic and political conditions. This research informs her practical work to develop alternative models of cultural production.
Lucy is also a movement practitioner and yoga teacher, with an emphasis on embodiment. She holds a YTT200 qualification, and has trained in Body Weather and other ecosomatic methods. She is continuing her training in Somatic Movement Education with Body-Mind Centering®, with Embody Move.
At 91µ¼º½, Lucy teaches across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, connecting students with artists and industry practice. She previously led the MA in Critical and Creative Writing at the University of Gloucestershire. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has received awards for outstanding contributions to teaching, learning and student support. She is Director of Academic Tutoring and Assessment Lead in the Department.
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