A weekend of events has been organised to remember the late professor of Performance Studies, Mike Pearson.

Aberystwyth University will celebrate the legacy of their former colleague this Friday and Saturday, 19 and 20 May, and people are invited to Mike’s work as a teacher, workshop leader and professor.

The event will bring together former students and colleagues of Mike’s to reflect on his teaching approaches, their impact and the unique pedagogies of the Performance Studies degree, and to explore the legacies of his work for the future of the teaching and making of performance.

The event will be held at the Department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies (TFTS) at Aberystwyth University. It will mark the first anniversary of Mike’s death and the deposit of his papers to the National Library of Wales, and will be part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the university’s Theatre Film and Television Studies (TFTS) department in 2023.

This Friday, from 6pm-7.30pm in the Parry-Williams building on Aberystwyth University’s campus, there will be a drinks reception and a discussion on the history of TFTS at Aberystwyth University and the impact of Brith Gof on the department and on Welsh theatre, film and television. The event will be chaired by Sioned Wiliam, BA Drama Aberystwyth 1979-1982; former controller of comedy for ITV, commissioning editor of comedy for BBC Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra. The panellists include Catrin M S Davies, Matthew Davies, Lis Hughes Jones, Elan Closs Stephens, Sêra Moore Williams.

On Saturday, also at the Parry-Williams building, tea will be served from 9am-9.30am.Professor Jamie Medhurst, Head of TFTS, will give the welcome at 9.30am, before a morning of film screenings and talks. At 10.10am, Louise Ritchie presents her talk, ‘The origins of In All Languages’.

A panel from 10.45am-11.30am will see Heike Roms, Jill Greenhalgh, Roger Owen, Steve Robins remembering Performance Studies at Aberystwyth.

Former students will have a chance to share their memories of Mike and studying under him, and they will also be able to take part in a workshop.

The afternoon’s events move to the National Library at 2.15pm.

At 2.45pm there will be a discussion on the relationship between training, teaching and professional practice in the performance work of Mike Pearson, chaired by Heike Roms, with panellists including Eddie Ladd, Ffion Jones, Richard Huw Morgan, Marc Rees, John Rowley and Sian Thomas.

At 3.30pm, Louise Ritchie marks the deposit of Mike’s papers to the National Library Wales, with panellists including Simon Banham, Mike Brookes, Gareth Llŷr Evans, Andrew Filmer, Ffion Jones and Roger Owen.

Emeritus Professor and world-renowned theatre practitioner, Mike Pearson, became a lecturer at AberystwythUniversity’s TFTS department in 1997, and was professor of performance studies there between 1999 and 2014.

He was a professional theatre maker with Transitions Trust community arts project (1971-72) and RAT Theatre, co-director of Cardiff Laboratory Theatre (1973-80) and Brith Gof Theatre Company (1981-97).

He also continued to create theatre as a solo artist as well as with artist/designer Mike Brookes. He is also well-known for his work with National Theatre Wales and with senior performers’ group Good News From The Future.

To attend this weekend’s event, register athttps://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=Dgl71Fo_oEyE0J-J0mnxdTmNGg7p2x9Iluws8veq1uJUQTMwVU5BUjc5SU5LTTNKVFhVRUhDTlNMMi4u