This article considers how the use of a theatre-based pedagogy approach can be used for practical transfer, specifically through applied theatre, in tertiary business education as well as in tertiary social work law education. This aims to support students in developing a greater sense of awareness of the relational and contextual challenges they are likely to face after graduating.

It is proposed that traditional lecture approaches within today’s universities, while remaining a relevant pedagogical tool in imparting higher-level theoretical thinking skills, requires new and innovative approaches in tertiary teaching to aid sustainable employability competencies – not just for students’ future job and career developments, but also to support their contribution to society, more widely.

While the role of theatre and acting in arts and humanities programs is accepted, the interdisciplinary theatre performance approach across business as well as social work and law tertiary education, discussed here, is less well known, both in higher education pedagogy and in the extant literature. The added perspective of a UK and German university approach to adopting theatre performance within the faculties of social science, as opposed to the arts and humanities, is considered a unique approach in this interdisciplinary paper which seeks to expand current critical debates.

The argument put forward in this paper is for an applied theatre pedagogical approach which up-ends the typical positions of educator and learner in the lecture room and instead seeks to reposition the student as an active learner by advancing the spect-actor approach (Freire 1968 and Boal 1973) within both business as well as social work law tertiary education in the UK and Germany. This argument is underpinned by a critique of the shifting demographics, societal and economic factors impacting university learners and educators, currently. All of which strengths the need for an innovative pedagogical tool to meet learners’ needs in contemporary higher education settings. A tool which this paper proposes is theatre-based pedagogy to expose learners to realistic learning challenges by relocating relevant career and societal issues to the lecture room using a mix of professional actors and theatre performance approaches.

We also offer guidance for educators wishing to apply the approach recommended here as well as seeking to present a conceptual model of practical transfer employability.

The paper is structured in six sections including introduction and conclusion. After the introduction, firstly, the term of applied theatre will be defined. Secondly, learning objectives of applied theatre in tertiary business teaching as well as in social work law teaching from a UK and German perspective, respectively, will be explained. Third, building on that, examples of how a UK university and a German university use applied theatre approaches in business education as well as in social work law education, will be discussed. Fourth, before concluding, the similarities and differences between applied theatre approaches will be shown. Finally, this will lead to the development of a conceptual model to aid lecturers interested in using theatre-based pedagogy to provide students with the practical transfer of taught theories.

Keywords: Applied Theatre, Tertiary Business Education, Tertiary Social Work Law Education, Higher Education, University, Theatre Pedagogy.