CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS
CFP | Theatre About Science 2027
Every odd year, the community of people working in and interested in the connections between theatre and the sciences gather in Coimbra, Portugal, to share and learn about what they have been doing.
It’s a very specific thematic niche that brings together a diverse group of participants, including theatre practitioners, scientific researchers, theatre and performance studies academics, and science communication researchers.
This diversity creates a dynamic, performative, and interdisciplinary scientific event, complemented by a parallel artistic program in several theatre venues in Coimbra, featuring a series of international theatrical performances about science.
We are now opening a call for presentations for the 2027 edition of the Theatre About Science Conference, which will take place between October 20th and 23rd, 2027, in two main venues — the University of Coimbra and the S. Francisco Convent.
The intersections of theatre and the sciences can take many forms, address a myriad of subjects, reach diverse audiences, use varied spaces and venues, and span different contexts. The possibilities for these reunions are immense, through the intermingling of theatrical and scientific languages, techniques, subjects, concepts, individuals, institutions, methodologies, spaces, systems or ideas.
We welcome contributions on subjects such as:
— Theatre about scientific subjects and concepts
— Contemporary practice in theatre about science
— Theatre and the History of Science
— Science in the History of Theatre
— Theatrical research processes vs scientific research processes
— Theatre in the training of scientific researchers
— Funding in the arts and in science
— Theatre in science communication
— Theatre on scientific stages
— Future trends in theatre about science
And some questions that might be asked:
— Can theatre help solve scientific problems?
— Does scientific knowledge transform theatre?
— What kinds of audiences for science in performance?
— Why theatre in science communication?
— What kind of knowledge about science can theatre offer?
— Can theatre transform the ways scientists perform their research?
— How does theatre engage with public debates about science and scientific developments?
— Can theatre inspire new scientific research?
— Where are the boundaries between communicating science and performing science?
Come and join this community. We’d like to know what you’ve been doing and questioning.
Accepted formats:
— Oral presentation on one of the themes of the conference (15 minutes).
— Short performance related to the themes of the conference (max. 30 minutes).
— Workshop related to the themes of the conference (max. 90 minutes).
Abstracts:
— Submissions should be in English.
— Between 300 and 400 words.
Relevant dates:
— Deadline for proposal submission: by 31 January 2027
— Notification of acceptance: by 22 March 2027