Lou Cope is a performance dramaturg based in Brighton, England, working across theatre, contemporary dance, ballet, opera, hip hop, performance for early years and children, inclusive performance, South Asian dance, new writing and live art and more. Lou Cope is a performance dramaturg based in Brighton, England, working across theatre, contemporary dance, ballet, opera, hip hop, performance for e
arly years and children, inclusive performance, South Asian dance, new writing and live art, in scripted and non-scripted environments. Lou spent the first decade of her career as the director of a small scale devised theatre touring company – In Toto, before beginning to teach directing, the directing of devising and collaborative practice. Firstly, she met the concept of ‘being a dramaturg’ and quickly realised that she had been one for some time without knowing it, and secondly she was invited into some dance rehearsals to share reflections and feedback. And here she was surprised to learn that she seemed to have something to offer – perhaps it was ‘bringing theatre-thinking to dance’, and bringing an understanding of process and show-making to other people’s work. Dance makers seemed to value her, and she relished being in a space where dance and theatre languages combined in search of meaning and impact. Living between the UK and Belgium Lou quickly began working as a dramaturg across Europe, gaining a reputation for being creative, empathetic, candid and fun to work with. Early collaborations include Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Damien Jalet, les ballets c de la b and she went on to work with some of the best known and most exciting dance, theatre and performance artists across the world. Now based in the UK, Lou has dramaturged well over 150 shows, many of which have won awards; she sometimes runs her own successful international online courses and coaching programmes; she produced two seasons of her own podcast ‘Downtime’ – talking with dance artists and arts leaders about their work; and was nominated for the Kenneth Tynan Award for Dramaturgy in 2021. Lou has written a number of chapters and articles on dramaturgy and process, is an alumni of the Clore Pulse programme and John Yorke's 'Story Development for High End Television', and an RD1st qualified coach.
