Dr. Stephen M Hornby
School of Arts and Media
Office 5.12, Floor 5, New Adelphi
Current positions
Fellow in Drama & Theatre Practice
Biography
Stephen is a multi-award winning playwright, theatre director and academic. He has taught undergraduates extensively for the last five years in theatre, playwriting, drama, directing, theatre history and performance and supervised some Masters creative writing projects. His current company is Inkbrew Productions, having previously been the Artistic Director of Pagelight Productions, VADA LGBT+ Community Theatre and Conical Productions. He is the first National Playwright in Residence to LGBT History Month.
Stephen completed an M.A. in Playwriting at the Salford University in 2016 and subsequently completed a Ph.D. here in writing plays from archive in 2021. He is already under contract to Routledge for a book based on his research called, “Writing from Archives for Stage & Screen” (coming in autumn 2023). He has completed successful commissions for performances based on archive with Islington Museum in London, Bolton Museum and the People’s History Museum in Manchester. Stephen is also interested in writing contemporary drama that explores his previous experiences as a probation officer and social worker in substance abuse teams. He is currently writer and producer of “The Day The World Came To Huddersfield”, a major year-long photographic and performance project funded by the Arts Council, Kirklees Council and LGBT+ History Month UK, celebrating the UK’s first National Pride march.
Recent staged work includes:
- “The Adhesion of Love” (toured North West in February 2019) #Whitman200 festival play, Arts Council of England (ACE) funded;
- “The Burnley Buggers’ Ball”, toured North West in 2017 to 5 STAR review, ACE funded;
- “Die Diana” winner of the 2016 Greater Manchester Fringe Best Drama Award;
- “The Box of Tricks”, toured North West, autumn 2015, nominated for the Vicky Allen Award, ACE funded;
- “A Very Victorian Scandal” performed as part of the first international festival of LGBT History in 2015, ACE funded.
Stephen’s short film Unchechen won the Wings 2018 award and has been screened across the world, including locally at HOME in Manchester.
I am the Module Leader of and teach on Gender, Sexuality & Performance, Introduction to Directing and Post-1950s British Theatre. I also teach on: Working the Text (Introduction to Playwriting), Introduction to Drama, Critical & Textual Studies, Performance Research Project and Theatre Projects.
Playwriting, heritage performance, theatre directing, history plays, performance using new media, LGBTQ history, queer drama.
Ph.D. Writing Intermale Sexuality History Plays (University of Salford)
M.A. Playwriting (Distinction, University of Salford)
M.St. Penology, Criminology & Management (Distinction, Cambridge, Fitzwilliam College)
M.A. Social Work (Distinction, UEA)
B.A. Hons. Drama & Theatre Studies (First Class, University of Canterbury, Darwin College)