Middlesex students gain real industry experience through live theatre production

14 September 2026

Three Middlesex students acting onstage in a live theatre production

Article Written By

Dr James Kenworth, FHEA - Academic Skills Advisor, Directorate of Student Life

Middlesex University students gained genuine, paid industry experience this summer, working behind the scenes on Three Ghosts of Silvertown at the Tate Institute - the seventh instalment in James Kenworth's Newham Plays series. Through a formal partnership with the production, students didn't just observe a professional show being made - they helped make it, in paid roles funded through the University's Knowledge Exchange scheme and delivered through the MDX Works Internship Scheme. 

The partnership gave students paid placements in branding and marketing, plus a dedicated Student Producer Support Internship - proof that what you learn at Middlesex doesn't stay in the classroom. 

The production went on to strong reviews: Theatre & Tonic called it a "hauntingly phantasmagorical addition" to the Newham Plays, The Stage described it as "a mix of dance, drama, politics and phantasmagorical poetry", and Everything Theatre praised it as "a new and ambitious play."  

Designing for a live production 

Alessandro Legname, a talented BA Graphic Design student at Middlesex University completing a placement through the MDX Works Internship Scheme, developed the production's visual identity and designed its promotional flyer - taking the kind of brief he'd study on his course and putting it into a live, public campaign that got reviewed by real critics. 

Andres built on this identity to create engaging social media content, including Instagram posts and reels, helping communicate the play's historical and political themes to contemporary audiences - the same skillset his degree teaches, put straight to work. 

"Alessandro, Andres and Nitika made a really valuable contribution to Three Ghosts of Silvertown. They weren’t simply observing a professional production but gaining genuine, on-the-ground experience and taking responsibility for work that directly contributed to the show — from Alessandro and Andres’s excellent work on branding, design and social media to Nitika’s invaluable support across marketing, administration and producing. All three demonstrated creativity, collaboration, communication, initiative, adaptability and professionalism, and I think I can safely say their experience successfully encompassed the full range of current Middlesex Graduate Competencies".

Real responsibility on a live production

Three Middlesex students - Alessandro, Andres and Nitika - took on real, credited roles across the production.

Students described the experience as valuable professional practice, strengthening their: 

  • Creative skills 
  • Collaborative skills 
  • Communication skills 
  • Project-management skills 

Working to a real deadline, on a live public production, with a real audience waiting on opening night - that's exactly the kind of placement the Middlesex is here to offer. 

If you're considering Middlesex 

This is what studying within Middlesex's creative industries looks like in practice: real placements, real productions, real reviews - proof that a Middlesex degree doesn't just prepare you for the creative industries, it puts you in them while you're still studying.

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