Dr Tony Lidington, longstanding STR member and recipient of our Research Grants, writes to alert everyone of an imminent threat to an important centre of drama research and teaching.

The University of Exeter announced on Tuesday 23rd June 2026 that despite its financial liquidity, it was taking the drastic measure of cutting 153 full-time equivalent academic jobs to ensure future solvency. Drama at Exeter has been “pooled” for significant cuts, which will inevitably impact our ability to meet student expectations and damage our care-filled research and teaching community.

Drama at Exeter was established almost 60 years ago and the first university Drama course to be focussed on the practical study of Drama. Subsequently, we have cultivated, nourished and grown one of the largest Drama departments in the UK, known internationally for our research, our passion and our collaborative and community ethos. The study of Drama is the study of the human condition and in particular the study of how humans perform (both in daily and extra-daily life) and how humans collaborate creatively. Our research and our teaching have supported a community of artists, thinkers, creative leaders and activists over the course of 58 years and we still engage directly with contemporary social and political questions, including the rise of authoritarianism globally, the economic crisis, the AI revolution and the existential ecological threat of global warming.

As a community we are passionate about theatre and performance from all cultural traditions, past and present. We work with a range of local, national and international partners, contributing to a rich ecology of creative practice. We believe in the power of performance to re-imagine and re-make our world, to connect us to each other and to sustain us. We believe in the importance of storytelling, playfulness, creativity, imagination and co-presence.

We help our students to develop their creative, communicative and analytical skills in order for them to become autonomous, life-long learners both personally and professionally.

We love our University, we love Exeter and we want to continue to do our work that makes both the university and the city better. We believe these proposed redundancies are unnecessary. The University Executive Board is proposing draconian cuts of 114 full-time equivalent employees from the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. The university is not in a multi-million pound deficit, in fact, the most recent available figures from the University’s own annual reports show profits in excess of £200 million for the years 23/24 and 24/25. Over the past 4 years, the number of staff members earning a base salary above £100,000 increased by 157.3% and the University’s Vice-Chancellor (Professor Lisa Roberts) commands was paid £392,000 last year. If Senior Leadership took cuts to their own pay and capped their salaries at £120,000, many of the proposed redundancies would become unnecessary. Even without that step being taken, the university’s own modelling shows they could stabilise finances by 2029 without a single compulsory redundancy. The current plan is a choice – the wrong one!

This unconscionable action by the University Executive Board has been taken against us just as we mourn the loss of one of our founding Department figures, Peter Thomson, who once said, ‘It is a vexing and fascinating question how much can be expected from the matching of an institution occupationally committed to product with another educationally committed to process. […] At the etymological source, ‘theatre’ derives from the verb ‘to behold’ and ‘drama’ from the verb ‘to do’.’ We are buoyed in our grief by Peter’s immense spirit and it is with his sincere passion for teaching and for the subject of Drama that we are defending our university. We are not done with this fight but we are doing the fighting. Join us!
We are actively working with our Union to push back on these proposals. Along with our colleagues across the University, we have passed a ‘Vote of No Confidence’ in the Vice-Chancellor, Lisa Roberts. We have also helped build this petition and we ask you to join us in signing it. https://c.org/yKcx6Zr29H

Additionally, we are asking for your specific support in any of the following ways you feel able:
1. Post about your experience of the value of a Humanities and Arts degree on social media and use #DefendExeterUni and if possible, your connection with Drama at Exeter.
2. Write an email letter to our Senior Management.
3. Contact your local MP to express concern about these proposals. Part of the rationale the University Executive Board are using for the cuts is the government’s current industrial strategy and its alignment away from Humanities and Arts. As the Labour government is currently in a leadership crisis, this strategy could change in the coming months. Your MP can help shape the nation’s university direction by insisting on more support for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Remind them of the power of Drama to shape and change lives, as well as contribute to the economy in meaningful ways.
4. Respond to this email with a statement of support, anecdotes about your involvement with the department at Exeter, etc. that we can use in our own messaging.
5. If you have contacts in the press, help us increase coverage of the situation by sharing the details contained in this letter.

For further information, current press is:
BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2djnz3y47o
Times Higher Education: https://archive.is/2026.06.23-174042/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/university-exeter-cuts-existential-threat-humanities
Research Professional News: https://www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-universities-2026-6-university-of-exeter-plans-to-cut-150-jobs/
Arts Professional: https://www.artsprofessional.co.uk/news/fears-creative-roles-facing-axe-as-universities-outline-staff-cuts
The Times (paywall): https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/classicist-university-exeter-humanities-578sr98r9
The Tab (Vice-Chancellor pay rise while redundancies active): https://thetab.com/2026/05/22/revealed-the-russell-group-vice-chancellors-who-got-a-pay-rise-the-same-year-their-unis-announced-redundancies