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      Dr James Martin Charlton

      BA Independent Study (Theatre as Stage Poetry), PGCertHE, PhD by Public Works (Writing Visionary Drama)
      ROLE: Interim Academic Dean Faculty of Arts & Creative Industries
      SCHOOL: Arts & Creative Industries
      DEPARTMENT: Faculty Leadership
      TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 8411 6327
      EMAIL: J.Charlton@mdx.ac.uk
      1. Biography &
        Qualifications
      2. Learning &
        Teaching Interests
      3. Research Outputs &
        Interests
      4. Funded Research &
        Knowledge Exchange Projects
      5. Engagement &
        Impact

      • Biography &
        Qualifications

        James Martin Charlton is a dramatist, director and filmmaker.

        • He is Head of the Media Department at Middlesex University, having joined Middlesex in 2003.
        • He has written theatre plays, screen plays and directed for theatre and film.
        • He has won the International Playwriting Festival at the Warehouse in Croydon, his play Fat Souls was nominated for Writers Guild Best Fringe Play, his co-written film Best Shot was nominated for Best Short Film at the North London Short Film Festival.
        • He has been the recipient of Arts Council and Peggy Ramsay Foundation bursaries.
        • He has a BA (Hons) Independent Study (Theatre as Stage Poetry) from East London University, a PGCertHe and a PhD by Public Works from Middlesex University.

        Languages Spoken

      • Learning &
        Teaching Interests

        • Scriptwriting, for stage, screen, radio
        • Advanced Screenwriting skills
        • Story and myth
        • Dialogue, Character, Conflict in Drama
        • Dramatic forms and developments
        • Filmmaking supervision
        • Writing for performance

      • Research Outputs &
        Interests

        • Dramatic narrative structure and the relationship between form and content
        • Mythology, ritual and drama
        • Medievel roots of contemporary drama
        • Alternative story structures in scriptwriting
        • Meta-Theatre and the Theatre of Jean Genet
        • Post-war British Theatre Writers, particularly Edward Bond, David Rudkin, Joe Orton and Howard Barker
        • Representation of gay characters on stage and screen

        Doctoral students welcome in areas of stage and screen drama wriiting, dramaturgy, LGB subject matter on stage and screen, theatre and cinema of extremes.

        Publications

        • Charlton, James Martin. 2015. Fat Souls. London: Playdead Press. 110pp. ISBN: 1910067334
        • Charlton, James Martin. 2013. Coward. London: Playdead Press. 173pp. ISBN: 0957679297

        Theatre Plays

        • Abdo's Consumation (FGM Conference, 2017)
        • Been on the Job Too Long (Theatre N16, 2015; NLLF 2016)
        • Coward (Just Some Theatre, 2012-13)
        • Fellow Creature (Miniaturists at Arcola, 2009)
        • Battis Boy (Paines Plough at Trafalgar Studios, 2007)
        • I Really Must Be Getting Off (White Bear Theatre, 2005)
        • A Twist Of Oliver (HMP Maidstone, 2002)
        • Spirited Away (Croydon Warehouse commission / showcase, 2002)
        • Desires Of Frankenstein (Open Air Regent's Park, 2001/Pleasance Edinburgh 2002)
        • Ecstasy + Grace (Theatre 28 at Finborough Theatre, 2001)
        • The Pilgrim's Progress (Royal Shakespeare Company commission, 2000)
        • Divine Vision (Peggy Ramsay bursary / Swedenborg Hall, 1999)
        • Coming Up (Croydon Warehouse, 1997/ Premio Candoni Arta Terme Italy, 1998)
        • Fairground Trip (Play-reading at Croydon Warehouse, 1997)
        • Groping In The Dark (Croydon Warehouse /Mermaid Studio, 1996)
        • Fat Souls (Croydon Warehouse, 1993)
        • More About The Language Of Love (New Copenhagen, 1991)
        • The World & His Wife (Camden Institute, 1989/White Bear, 1995)
        • Straight To The Top (Etcetera Theatre, 1988)
        • What Are Neighbours For? (Fallen Angel, 1985)

        Film and Television

        • Academic (short) (writer/director) (Friendly Fire Productions, 2011)
        • Capital (writer) (feature commission) (5v2 films, 2009)
        • Emotional Tribunal (Mountview Films, 2008)
        • Apeth (short) (writer/director) (White Dolphin Films, 2007)
        • Best Shot (short) (writer) White Dolphin Films, 2006)
        • Family Affairs (writer) (4 Episodes) (Pearson TV, 2000-2001)

        Publication Feed

        Elizabeth Fry: 'The Angel of Prisons'

        Kenworth, James and Charlton, James Martin (2022) Elizabeth Fry: 'The Angel of Prisons'. [Performance]

        Building a text for actors and AR (Backpages 32.1)

        Charlton, James Martin and Cottis, David and Moar, Magnus (2022) Building a text for actors and AR (Backpages 32.1). Contemporary Theatre Review , 32 (1). pp. 112-115. ISSN 1048-6801

        Protomartyr reading

        Charlton, James Martin (2022) Protomartyr reading. [Digital artefact] (Published online first)

        Writing visionary drama: an anarcho-Christian approach to the contemporary British play through four theatre texts by James Martin Charlton: The World & his Wife, Coming Up, ecstasy GRACE, Coward

        Charlton, James Martin (2021) Writing visionary drama: an anarcho-Christian approach to the contemporary British play through four theatre texts by James Martin Charlton: The World & his Wife, Coming Up, ecstasy GRACE, Coward. [Doctorate by Public Works]

        Fellow Creature 360 annotated

        Moar, Magnus and Charlton, James Martin (2020) Fellow Creature 360 annotated. [Film/Video]

        View more publications

      • Funded Research &
        Knowledge Exchange Projects

        Revolution Farm and A Splotch of Red: Keir Hardie in West Ham funded by Royal Docks Trust, 2014 and 2016 (also schools workshops for both plays).

      • Engagement &
        Impact

        • Artistic Director, Friendly Fire Productions.
        • Associate Artist, Just Some Theatre Company.
        • Contributing Member, ScriptTank

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